Louise Summons Raphtalia
by y1fellas
Summary: What it says on the tin. She was cuter as a kid anyway.
1. Chapter 1

The sign read, "No demihumans." I'd almost forgotten it was there, but looking back now it stood out clearly in my mind. The first time we'd been here together, the night after we met, he'd brought me here for a meal, and when I'd hesitated to come in he'd barked sharply at me to follow. As scary as he'd been to me at the time, somehow the memory seemed wonderfully nostalgic right now.

Squaring my shoulders, I pushed my way inside, the familiar sights and sounds washing over me as I passed the threshold.

"Welcome-" The owner called as I came in, then cut himself short as he saw me. He hesitated as we both looked at eachother, uncertainty written on his features.

Of course he recognised me. It was probably unusual of me to be here without Mr Naofumi, but the owner _had _watched me grow up over those first few months I spent grinding levels and completing basic quests in Melomarc.

I returned the look he gave me, smiling at him somewhat sadly as I did. Please, if only for old times sake...

After a long moment he nodded and beckoned me over. "Alright, but only because I know you."

"Thank you." I bowed my head slightly, a mannerism I'd picked up from Mr Naofumi in those rare moments when he was trying to be polite and respectful. Apparently it was basic courtesy in his home country.

I wonder if he's happy now he's there? Happy without me…

My steel sword wrattled in its sheath as I walked over to the bar, and with practiced ease I put one hand on the hilt to make sure it didn't rattle against anything as I sat down. "One meal, and one ale." As my coins clacked against the stained wooden counter, I noticed a handful of new chips and pits in its old worn surface that I didn't remember being there. Idly, I took off my gloves and rubbed one callused finger against the marks.

The ale was brought over right away, but the meal would take a few minutes of preparation. The ale of this bar was actually a new taste to me. Mr Naofumi hadn't really let me drink until after our journey to Cal Mira, and thus I'd never had the brew of this rundown part of Melomarc before. I found it a little sour, but not enough so to overpower the sweetness of the alcohol.

As I sipped at the foam, I noticed a human family in the back of the hall watching me. The boy was staring openly at my sword with great interest, while the mother looked frightened and my the father looked on with a weary concern. Despite myself I couldn't help but feel a little guilty for ruining their meal. Mr Naofumi would have told me I hadn't done anything wrong, so I had nothing to be ashamed of, and he was right, but still. I just didn't like upsetting people.

I turned to face back towards the front just as my meal was served. When I saw it I blinked slightly in surprise and looked back up to the owner.

"Wasn't this your usual?" He grunted. "Or did you want something else?"

"...It's fine, thank you." I picked up the knife and fork and tucked in. It tasted exactly as I remembered it, and I was finished quickly.

I had another ale before I left, a little paper flag twirling between my thumb and forefinger with a small red thumbprint in its center.

Melomarc wasn't the safest city even at the best of times for a demihuman, but I wasn't very worried. Between my high level, unique class up, magical weapons, and countless other improvements, I was a match for the sword hero let alone any random grouping of thugs. Perhaps it was arrogant of me to say, maybe even a little bit unhealthy, but some part of me hoped for a reprieve from the mundanity of adventuring.

With Naofumi gone, and Filo as Queen of the Filioals, doing whatever that entailed, I had been left to continue living as an adventurer. A good one, with a clean an honest reputation, known for my ability to handle difficult jobs solo that most would send a group to deal with. After the waves I was honestly a bit overqualified to do this sort of work, but it was really all I knew how to do.

I could travel to one of the demihuman kingdoms, and no doubt find work as a lords personal bodyguard, or perhaps even join the royal guard of a king, but doing that seemed I'd be…

A cool evening breeze caught the flag in between my fingers, and I gently let it go, watching as it blew down the street and away to join a trash pile somewhere. As it passed by an alley, it was briefly illuminated by a green light before disappearing behind a merchant's stall.

Curious about the cause of the eerie illumination spilling out between two buildings, I approached before peeking my head around the corner. There floating in the air was a green orb, its surface glowing bright enough in the dark that it hurt my eyes a little to look at it.

Cautiously, with one hand on my sword hilt, I approached before coming to a halt before it. Scooping down, I grabbed a small piece of chipped stone and tossed it at the things surface. It disappeared, only to clatter down on the other side of it unharmed.

An illusion then…

Wondering what it was hiding, I approached, pulling the gloves back onto my hands before reaching out to touch its surface. Finding no resistance, my arm disappeared without feeling through its surface, and I took another step forwards to put my face and shoulder inside it. Nothing. Just green.

Leaning back I… I couldn't lean back. Trying to pull out was like pulling against solid stone and instinctively I put my other hands against the orbs surface to try and find purchase, only for it to enter the orb as well. Panicking, I tried stepping back only to feel my feet leave the ground as I somehow tilted forwards, seemingly losing my balance. I should have fallen to the alley floor, but somehow it felt like I fell much farther than that, the green light only growing brighter and more piercing.

* * *

**AN: I've seen the anime, and read the manga. Currently working my way through the eng translated novels. Obviously this portrayal of Raphtalia is going to be outdated by canon, let alone whatever the ending of the series will turn out to be. But the gist of this version of her is the four heroes won, returned to their respective worlds, and Raphtalia was left behind.**

**Sad, I know.**


	2. Chapter 2

Do not tap the feet. Do not pace. Or fidget. Or touch the face. Look straight ahead when speaking, and avoid unnecessary eye movement. In my head I could practically see the words in my mother's handwriting. All useful advice on how to at least _appear _composed when one isn't feeling so.

The rule of steel.

Weakness is not to be tolerated. Nervousness was absolutely a weakness, and so there's no reason at all for me to be feeling nervous. And I wasn't nervous. **At all**. Not even a little bit.

But if I was feeling nervous, which I wasn't, but if_..._**if** I was, then it would be even worse for me to act like it. Hence why I was going over the lessons on composure in my head. Just in case I did start to feel nervous.

And those aren't butterflies in my stomach, they're merely… gnats. Yes. Gnats. Small. Not worthy of notice. Dust mites, really.

After all I had absolute confidence in my preparations. Long hours of study well into the night, careful note taking in class, and the tiny barbs of my peers all led me to this day. I would succeed. I would summon a familiar, and prove once and for all that I was a mage worthy of my fathers name and my mother's lov- **respect**.

Worthy of her _respect_.

Being careful to keep my hands at my sides and maintain an even, unhurried stride, I descended the stairs to the dining hall. The large hall smelled sumptuous, as it did every morning, but this day in particular it buzzed with anticipation. My peers and classmates chattered excitedly among themselves, not paying attention to my dignified entrance or their meals. None of them had any reason to be nervous, I couldn't help but note. After all, they were all developing sorcerers and sorceresses with a history of successfully cast spells behind them, and they had every reason to expect a suitable familiar by day's end.

Ah, s-so did I. Of course.

Only an idiot would be expected to fail at this.

Breakfast was as delicious as ever, and I was very careful to eat a normal amount. Obviously, for me a normal amount of food would be less than my peers. I was much smaller than most of my classmates, so it was _completely unreasonable _to assume my light breakfast was due to an unsettled stomach.

As my eyes roamed the room I couldn't but note the only student in the year shorter than me, Tabitha, was alone this morning. Unusual. Normally that fat breasted sow, Kirche, would be draping herself all over the smaller girl in a perverted display of affection. Half the time it seemed like Kirche was trying to seduce her, which wouldn't be that surprising given the hussy's shameless parade of lovers. Where was the red headed Germanian that morning anyway-

"Ready to destroy the courtyard, Louise?" A heavy weight settled on my head, as two long arms draped over my shoulders.

"G-get off me!" My composure did not break. The rule of steel required I be firm when dealing with such an undue advance after all. "Y-you dumb cow!" The rule of steel also required I be unafraid to speak the truth. Digging my elbow in to her abdomen behind me was enough to drive her away.

She chuckled, looking down at me as I turned to face her. "I really can't wait to see what kind of familiar you summon. 'Beautiful and powerful', was it?"

That grinding sound I heard wasn't my own teeth. I suspect that was merely the sound of someone pushing their chair out as they stood up further down the table, not that I turned my head to check of course. "_Loyal." _I corrected firmly. "Loyal and powerful." Turning my nose up, I was careful to reply with great composure. "Unlike _some_, I understand that it's strength of character that truly matters in a life long partner. Not that you'd be interested in such a commitment of course."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms under her breasts in such a way to push up her cleavage in an utterly undignified manner that in no way at all made me feel jealous. That was perfectly normal outrage I was experiencing. Outrage at her lack of virtue. "Well, it's of no surprise to me that you'd think like that, Brimir knows you have precious little else going for you." Her ugly sneer deepened as her eyes roamed down to my chest. "In any case, I'm just glad there will be a teacher on hand to fix whatever damage you do to the courtyard... and anyone else standing nearby."

Unfortunately, I was not thinking quickly enough to come up with a reply for that. My only option was to stand there as the grinding noise in my ears mysteriously grew louder.

"You know, I suspect you might actually succeed in summoning your familiar." She continued, louder so other people would overhear nearby. "Only that you will have to reassemble it after it arrives in many tiny little pieces."

Others nearby giggled at her morbid humor. Somehow the image she'd put in my mind seemed worse than failing to summon at all.

"J-just you wait, Kirche. We'll see who's laughing at the end of the day."

It wasn't long after that the we filed out into the courtyard and began the rituals. There was only one teacher to oversee our summon circles, so there was something of a rush to make sure we each got a turn before midday began in earnest. Each student hurriedly, but carefully, drew out their circle, to which the teacher would give an aye and allow them to continue, or a nay and suggest some adjustments.

Some of the familiars summoned were quite spectacular too, I couldn't help but note. Kirche even managed to summon an incredibly rare fire salamander, whom she gave the name 'Flame' with great originality. That was even overshadowed by Tabitha's summon of a _literal dragon._ Somehow I doubted anything I summoned would be able to compete with that.

"Is there anyone else?" Professor Colbert's voice rang out clearly over the din of the students.

I hadn't been avoiding my turn, it was just time had moved so quickly I had nearly forgotten I was there at all. That was all it was.

"Louise hasn't had her turn yet." Kirche rudely answered for me before I could.

"A-ah, Miss Valliere." Professor Colbert smiled calmly, despite the slight hitch in his voice. I had no idea what _he_ had to feel nervous about. "Right here please." He used his staff to indicate the ground were the other students had drawn their circles.

Swallowing to clear my throat, I confidently strode forward through the screen of students who moved aside for me, many of them starting to look worried as well. Really, it was like Tabitha and I were the only ones here with any sense of composure.

The runes on the ground the other students had used was more or less intact, and only required a few careful adjustments with my wand tip to get it in proper order. Professor Colbert observed my work, before nodding and taking a few too many large steps back in my opinion.

Again, I swallowed down a lump in the back of my throat that was completely unrelated to the churning in my stomach, and began to recite the well practiced words with my wand brandished in the air. "My servant that exists somewhere in this vast universe! My loyal, beautiful, wise, powerful servant, heed my call! I wish from the very bottom of my heart and add to my guidance and appear!"

I could feel the power of magic humming through my veins, surging up my arm and to the tip of my wand. The other students could feel it too, the strangely vast stores of magic pouring from me in waves, filling the air with pregnant potential. In the corner of my eye I could see Kirche going pale even through her dark skin, fear for her life written on her features as the violent outcome she'd predicted in the hall that morning ran through her mind.

Then nothing. All the power disappeared. The wind stopped blowing and everyone stood there with a slightly stupefied expression.

A fat boy in my class uttered aloud, "Is that it?"

Snap. Crackle.

_**BOOM!**_

Everyone was thrown off their feet violently, three dozen teens and a middle aged man sent sprawling to the ground as dust and chunks of the earth scattered in all directions. By the time my coughing had subsided, the cloud in the air had settled, and the ringing in my ears had gone down, we could all see what I'd managed to summon:

A sweet faced young girl of the age of around ten, wearing clothes much too big for her, carrying a sword oddly too large for her, in boots that swallowed her entire legs, with a round pair of furry ears sitting atop her head. She blinked slowly, looking far more confused than any of us.

There was a long moment of silence. Then a voice rang out. "I did it! Take that Kirche! Take that Kirche, you fat sow!"

I won't impune the speaker's dignity by revealing who would say such a thing.

The summoned girl with the ears took one step forward in her oversized boots, and fell flat on her face.

* * *

**AN: I watched the first season of Familar of Zero after reading Overlady by EarthScorpion, but haven't watched any of it after that point. I enjoy the fanfiction quite a bit though.**


	3. Chapter 3

I huffed out a breath of irritation, which proved to be a mistake as dust immediately blew up into my eyes and nose. Grimacing and rubbing at my eyes with one hand, I pushed myself up into a standing position, only to feel a strange barrier around my legs trip me up. Arms windmilling, I fell backwards into the dust again.

Now thoroughly embarrassed, I looked down to see my boots had somehow grown too big. I kicked them off and tried to stand up, only for my skirt to fall down around my legs. This would have been really embarrassing, if my shirt hadn't also suddenly grown in length that it stretched past my knees. I bent down to pick up my skirt, only to find my gloves were also now too big for my hand and fell off my fingers.

"_**That's**_ _your wise and powerful servant, Louise? A clumsy child is now your familiar?" _One of the oddly large humans watching me jabbered at another in a language I didn't understand, and laughed at what I guessed was her own joke. She was even taller than the other humans with an absolutely absurd set of breasts to match. They were large enough to almost make me feel insecure, and I wasn't exactly small in that area.

"_A success is a success, Kirche!" _A pink haired human answered the first, still in that language I didn't understand.

While the two of them bickered, I reached for my sheath only to find it and my sword had also grown. Indeed, the steel blade was a lot heavier than I remembered it being. Had something happened to my strength stat? When I brought up the menu, I let out a short gasp.

Strength, dex, int, mp and hp, everything! All my stats had been nerfed down to nearly nothing! How? A harried groan escaped me, and with a quick flick of my fingers, I scrolled back up the page to see I was somehow back at level 1 again.

"_What's she doing, with her hands?"_

"No, my class up!" I put my face in my palms, my voice sounding higher pitched than I expected. It sounded familiar somehow, though...

"_I don't know, but she's kinda cute."_

Years of grinding and hard work, wasted. Did they level me down, somehow? The thought sent a chill down my spine. In Melomarc, the royalty would do that as punishment to dangerous and powerful criminals. Were these people slavers, or something similar? Enemies of the kingdom targeting me for reasons beyond me?

Then another thought hit me. Could I be…?

Instinctively I shrank back from the crowd, before going for where my travelers pack had fallen. The pack was now way too large for me as well, and I despaired to find what I wanted amidst its contents.

"_Is she an elf?" _

"_No, her ears are rounded, and on top of her head. Elven ears are pointed and are in the same place as ours are." _

"_Curious. Perhaps she's some kind of animal spirit?" _An older looking human, cleared his voice loudly. "_Regardless, Miss Valliere, you should complete the ritual, please."_

Inside my pack I found the two things I was after, though I'd had to spill traveling supplies and a change of clothes onto the ground to get to the bottom of my pack, I found the two things I was after. The first was a long dagger, small enough to fit my hands comfortably. I mostly only used it as an emergency weapon and to help Mr Naofumi prepare meals. The second thing I found was a hand mirror, which I'd used to pretty myself in the hopes of pleasing my old master, never to any avail. When I looked at its surface, I found a young child with cute feature framed by wavy brown hair looking back at me, her face as dismayed as I felt.

When my level had been reset, I'd somehow been returned to the age I was at level 1.

Footsteps approaching from behind me made me turn my head, and I found their source to be the shorter, pink haired human's approach, a gentle, a victorious smile on her features. "_Hey there, no need to be scared."_

"I don't know what you're saying." I grumbled, and jumped back when she tried to reach for me. The mirror clattered to the ground in front of me, and reactively I held the dagger out in front of me. One of my hands was on its hilt, and the other on the sheath, a clear but empty warning. At my current level there really wasn't much I could do.

Even so she saw how I reacted, and hesitated, before crouching down in front of me. "_No need to be scared." _She cooed, softly. "_Whatever you are, I promise I'm going to be very kind to you."_ She held out one of her hands towards me, reaching for my weapon. "_Is that your dagger? Please put it down before you hurt yourself._"

Whatever she was saying, I don't know. But there wasn't much I could do to stop her in my current state. It was obvious she wanted me to hand the blade over, but I didn't feel comfortable doing that yet. Instead, I lowered the weapon to my side, holding it by the sheath in my right hand.

"_...Okay, that's fine. You'll learn to trust me soon enough."_ She still held out towards me, reaching for my unoccupied hand, stopping with just a few centimetres separating us.

Her intention was obvious, she was asking to hold my hand. Looking around, I could see everyone watching us curiously. I didn't notice it at first, the seemingly giant humans having distracted me for the first part, but mingled among the crowd were all kinds of bizarre monsters. All the humans were wearing strange uniforms, too… Was this some kind of monster taming army division? They all seemed far too young and ill equipped to be part of any military I knew of.

They didn't seem hostile to me, either. This girl in front of me really seemed to think I was a child.

I still had my spells. Invisibility. I could turn invisible and run if things started to go wrong. First I'd need new clothes, but I could survive on my own in the wilderness if I had to. It would be more dangerous leveling up again by myself without Naofumi, but if I was careful I could manage.

With that bit of reassurance, I slowly reached out and took her hand.

She smiled at me, before pulling me closer. I recognised the cadence of a spell being cast, and the hairs on the back of my neck rose. "_My name is Louise Françoise Le Blanc de La Vallière. Pentagon of the five elemental powers; bless this humble being, and make her my familiar."_ Then she kissed me.

I quickly pushed her away. No, my first kiss!

...Mr Naofumi...

The dagger was back between me and her, unsheathed now. What did she cast on me?

She backed away, her hands in the air to show me her bare palms. "_Calm down, it's just part of the spell."_

All of a sudden my left hand, the one holding the dagger started burning, hot enough that I dropped it to the ground with a yelp of pain. Cradling the limb close to my chest, I stared up at her, feeling betrayed. Notifications from my hud popped up into my vision.

PARTY INVITATION RECEIVED. WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN:

YES or YES

Before I could clear away the message, the first yes was autop-selected.

OVERRIDE ACCEPTED.

YOU HAVE JOINED PARTY OF _**ERROR**_ MAGE, 'Louise de la Valliere'. _**SYSTEM ERROR.**_ H.U.D. NOT FOUND… SEARCHING FOR SOLUTION.

…

…

INTEGRATING _**ERROR**_ MAGE INTO SYSTEM.

There was a loud crack, and a jolt of black lightning connected me with the girl. Instantly, her eyes rolled into the back of her head, and she fell to the ground twitching and frothing at the mouth.

"_Miss Valliere!" _The older man ran over, shouting over his shoulder. "_Tabitha, get the sister, now! Go!"_

The crowd of watchers broke out into excited and nervous murmuring as their companion convulsed in the dirt. The pain in my hand faded away, leaving a burn mark in the shape of runes, and one final notification popped into my vision.

INTEGRATION SUCCESSFUL. _**ERROR**_ MAGE, 'Louise de la Valliere' IS CURRENTLY AT LVL 1.

Oh, it looks like she got nerfed too...


	4. Chapter 4

I'm not sure how long it was until I came to. The bed below me was soft, if unfamiliar, and the roof above me was higher than in my room. Floating directly in the centre of my vision, right over my head were words in a language I didn't recognise.

_TRANSLATION CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE. COLLECTING LANGUAGE SAMPLE. PLEASE WAIT._

The intent of whoever cast this strange illusion upon me I cannot begin to guess at. The foreign runes disappeared soon enough, and I found my attention drawn to the pain in my arms and legs as I tried to sit up, but found my arms restrained. The nurse's office was easily recognisable to me, as I looked around at the empty beds and clean sheets.

Why was I tied down? "H-hello?" I called out.

"Miss Louise?" The Sister's head came through the door, and as she saw me she gave a relieved smile. "Looks like the convulsions have stopped then."

"Is that why I'm strapped down?" I asked the obvious, tugging at the buckles.

"Aye, Miss Louise." She came over and helped undo the uncomfortable heavy leather.

I found large bruises on my wrists and ankles, and couldn't help but grimace at the edge of raised skin where the hardy materials had rubbed my flesh raw. "What happened?"

"According to Mr Colbert, it looked like something your familiar did after you frightened it with the second part of the ritual."

"How long was I out?"

"Not even an hour, Miss."

In my memories I could only vaguely recall a jolt of _something _leaping from the young creature to me, and then nothing but… runes. Those same foreign runes that were now sitting in the corner of my vision. With one finger I gently touched the edge of my eye and felt nothing. Yes, this was definitely my familiar's doing. Perhaps she was trying to communicate with me through her native writing system?

No matter where I looked, the little letters were still there.

_HP: 9 / 10_

_MP: __**ERROR**_ _/ __**ERROR**_

What on earth could they mean?

Regardless, it seemed I would need my familiar to remedy the illusion. Normally punishment would be in order, but thinking of the scared look on the small girl's face brought my justified anger up short. Really, she was such a little thing. Being summoned into the courtyard like that must have been terrifying to her, especially with giants like Kirche looming nearby.

"Where is my familiar now?" I asked the sister.

"In Professor Colbert's office, along with her things. Or, well, the things you summoned her with anyway." She corrected after a moment. "Mr Colbert wasn't comfortable leaving it with the weapons it had, and has taken them into custody until he's sure its safe. After what happened to you it's understandable."

I bid her goodbye, and quickly left the wing. Professor Colbert's office was known to me. He had spent many hours with me in private tutelage, trying to help me with my 'small casting problem', all to no avail. Well, no avail until today anyway.

Hah hah to you, **Kirche.** Zero no longer.

I knocked curtly, three times in rapid succession. Some would consider it rude, but I knew the man to be easily engrossed in his studies, and I couldn't help but admit a little impatience at getting my new familiar to undo the illusion it had put on me. As I'd walked thriough the castle, a strange outline had appeared around the edge of any of the maids or other servant I looked at directly, with new unfamiliar runes popping up over their head whenever it happened. It was growing tiresome quickly.

"Come in!" Professor Colbert answered.

His room smelled of fresh ink and dusty old tomes, with every available inch of desk space packed with books and study notes. Many of them were in different languages than I spoke. Some were even dead.

"You're up." He smiled when he saw me, relief painted across his face. In front of him was a book and an inked quill. "I was worried, but there wasn't much I could do other than trust the Sister."

"That's fine, professor Colbert." I answered him quickly. "What are you doing with my familiar?"

Next to him stood my familiar, her small marked left hand laid flat upon his desk, while he examined the runes written there. The look on her face was harder to read, though I noticed her tail straightening out when she saw me. What emotion that indicated I wasn't sure.

"These runes on her hand were different from the other student's familiars, and something about them tickled my memory so I sought to copy them down for later research."

That seemed harmless enough, I suppose. Though I would have prefered he asked my permission before he accosted my familiar without me present. "Are you done with her, then? This afternoon I was supposed to be bonding with her."

He hesitated, before answering with a nod. "Yes, of course. Just be careful not to frighten her in case she reacts the same way again."

"I will." I quickly reassured, before holding out a hand to my familiar. "Come here, then."

She stared up at me with her large eyes, glancing at Professor Colbert first before walking around the desk and taking my hand. I could feel the nervous tension she held through her palm, so I smiled to try and calm her down. "And her things?" I looked back towards my teacher.

Again, he took a moment to answer. "From what I can see, many of her items are enchanted and quite unknown. I would feel best if I took some time to examine them, first."

"I'm not sure I understand, sir. Are you saying they're potentially dangerous?" I frowned, glancing down at her.

"Well, some of them are weapons. Honestly, I'm wondering what a child was doing carrying around so many items like these."

She seemed to shrink back under both our gaze, pulling away from me. At rer reaction I couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy. "Well, at least so as not to frighten her too much, could I take the ones that don't seem dangerous with me?"

"Ah… Alright, that should be fine." He led me over to where he had the bag on the floor, it's contents neatly arranged around it.

There was indeed a lot a of weapons. In addition to the sword and dagger she'd been carrying, there was what was clearly a warhammer of some kind with a gem set into it, and the hilt of a sword, though the blade was missing. In addition to those she had a variety of gems, a change of clothes in a size too large for her, a bedroll, a small hand mirror, a water skin, and a few bundles of dried fruits, dried meats, and hardtack.

"It seems she was traveling when she was summoned." Professor Colbert observed. "The size of the clothes and weapons make me think she was carrying them for someone else."

If that was the case, then I was a little concerned. Stealing another noble's things did not sit well with me, and it seemed obvious to me that only someone of nobility could afford such a rich armament as the hammer. But I suppose that if anyone showed up looking to claim them we could simply turn them over. Until that happened, we would just have to keep them safe.

"Come along then." I said to my familiar. Professor Colbert would have a servant carry the things to my room later. "For now, let's go find you a change of clothes." The oversized shirt that fell to her knees might have looked cute, but it was rather indecent and not at all practical. The sleeves completely swallowed her arms, covering her hands such that she had to keep rolling them up.

I took her out to the courtyard where all the other students were getting to know their summons, too. It was a warm day, and everyone seemed quite jovial. Even Kirche looked quite content to play fetch with her salamander and was happy to leave me alone, though she looked ridiculous doing it.

As we walked, I tried communicating with the young girl. "My name is Louise." The basics seemed appropriate. Pointing to myself, I said slowly so as to enunciate the words. "Louise. Loo- ees."

"Loo ees?" She repeated, pointing at me.

"That's right. What's your name?" I pointed at her. "Name?"

"...Raf-tar-lee-ah." She held a hand to her chest.

Smart girl. She was very quick to figure that out.

Just as I thought so, more of those foreign runes popped into my vision, before shifting before my eyes. After a moment they reformed into thin, blue, modern Tristainian letters. They read:

RAPHTALIA

LVL 1


	5. Chapter 5

Louise pointed to herself. "_My name is Louise." _Then she indicated me. "_Your name is Raphtalia." _Then she turned to face the other party to our 'conversation'. "_Would you be so kind as to introduce yourself to my familiar? I'm trying to teach her Tristainian."_

Currently we were talking to people I could only assume to be Louise's friends. One of them had such vibrant blue hair that it would have been almost as unusual as Louise's pink back in Melomarc. Melty's hair had been faintly purpley blue in the right lighting, but these two were positively fluorescent by contrast. She was tiny, almost eye level with me, which was saying something remarkable given my physical ten years of age.

"_Name, Tabitha."_ She answered, nodding her head to me slightly as she did.

"_There's no need to be so accommodating, Tabitha." _By contrast her red haired friend was very tall for a woman, and dark skinned where her friend was almost worryingly pale. "_Louise is only here to show off her one and only successful spell after all."_

"_Shut it, Zerbst." _Something the redhead had said had apparently annoyed Louise, if I was reading her tone correctly. "_I'm actually here to ask Tabitha's aid in a matter that's none of your concern."_

"_See how rude she is, Tabitha? She calls me by my surname without even a 'Miss' in front."_ The redhead turned so speak to me directly now. "_Oh, you cute little thing, how rude and cantankerous little Louise must be to you. Be sure not to follow her example." _She put a hand to her generous chest. "_My name is Kirche Von Zerbst, by the way."_

My ears perked up immediately. There it was, that sound, '_name'._ If it meant what I thought it meant... "Name… Ker-sh-Von-Zer-Bsst?"

At first I was felt a touch guilty about Louise being nerfed back to level 1 alongside me, but it wasn't long after that until all I felt was confused. As Louise introduced me to people, their names were filled into my HUD, and a few more details became available. For example:  
TABITHA

LVL: N/A

HP:11

MP: 3523

That was a remarkable disparity between HP and MP at the very least, but how was it possible for her LVL to be NA? I'd been sent always the way back down to 0 XP, and I was still at least level 1. Even if Tabitha was only LVL 1, 3500 MP was _vast._ Even at max level before classing up, my MP was only ever around that much.

Her friend was just as confusing.

KIRCHE VON ZERBST

LVL: N/A

HP: 24

MP: 2586

Kirche had a similar disparity between MP and HP, though it wasn't quite as exaggerated. That was to say nothing of Louise.

LOUISE FRANÇOISE LE BLANC DE LA VALLIÈRE

LVL: 1

HP: 14/14

MP: -99999/1

...I don't even know what to make of that.

I couldn't keep up with the rest of the conversation at all with my limited vocabulary. "_I know it's rude of me to ask, Tabitha, but you're the only person in the academy of a comparable size to Raphtalia. Is there any chance I could borrow one or two of your casual outfits for her, just until the weekend and I can make a trip to the capital?"_

Tabitha nodded slowly as an answer, which I think meant the same thing here as it did in Melomarc.

Kirche strode forward, and poked Louise in the chest. "_I suspect your clothes wouldn't be such a poor fit either, Zero. You're certainly of size a match for a child in __**some **__areas."_

The grinding of Louise's teeth was so loud I thought they might crack.

They struck me as close friends to be playing around in public like that.

After that, and some more bickering between Louise and Kirche, I was led into the castle by the hand and upstairs to a long corridor with doors on either side. Inside one of those doors was a rather plain but tasteful room. A bed sat against the back wall, and in the corners opposite were a dresser with a chair and a closet with matching drawers.

Strangely, at the base of the bed was a pile of dry straw.

"_I guess that won't be appropriate anymore."_ Louise murmured to herself, while staring at it.

Had someone played a prank on her by leaving it in her room? Maybe it was Kirche?

That would explain why they were arguing.

"_Here, take a seat." _She led me to the chair before turning it to face the mirror. When I sat down, she smiled again and took a few steps backwards. My tail swished slowly as she walked a circle around me, observing me from a few different angles while smiling to herself. "_Yes, I'm very pleased. I'll have to write to mother tonight about you." _

She put her hands on the sides of my head while looking over my shoulder at my face in the reflection. After a long moment she nodded again, before reaching for an expensive looking lacquered brush on her dresser and began to run it through my hair. Starting at the tips and working her way up in small gentle strokes, she worked what few kinks and knots were in it out, before setting it back down again. That done, she took a handkerchief and used it to wipe the dust off my face from when I fell to the ground just earlier.

By the time she was done with this, there was a knock at the door. "_Come in."_ Two people in maid uniforms entered, one carrying my traveling pack and the other a small pile of neatly folded clothes. "_Just leave those, there."_

I watched in the mirror as the maids deposited the things they brought onto the foot of Louise's bed. "_Will there be anything else, M'lady?"_

"_Yes, please clean away the straw bedding. It seems I won't have need of it after all."_

The two maids curtsied. One stepped out into the hall and came back a while later with a sack and dustpan. They began to clear away the straw by putting handfuls in the bag, before eventually sweeping up the last of it. With one final curtsy they departed.

If the straw was there for a purpose then they wouldn't have had it cleaned away. It seemed like it must have been a prank after all. I guess Louise and Kirche really were close friends, to bicker with each other like that and play around.

"_Now let's get you dressed." _From the bed, Louise brought a simple but well made blouse and a black skirt that strongly resembled the one Louise was wearing. It was the same as the uniform all the other girls in this castle had been wearing. Well, other than the maids. "_I guess Tabitha mustn't own any casual outfits… Can you change yourself?"_

She handed the shirt to me, and I stared back at her blankly.

After a moment she pursed her lips, and mimed unbuttoning her shirt. "_Get changed."_ She stated something, as though repeating herself.

It wasn't hard to figure out what she wanted, and I guess it was better than wearing my now many sizes too large traveling shirt. She watched as I slowly unfastened the buttons one by one, until the purple slave crest on my chest was revealed, at which point her expression changed to one of curiosity.

"_What's this?" _She murmured after the shirt was fully off my shoulders and I stood there fully in the nude. It wasn't as uncomfortable as it could be, given that we were both girls, but it was cold and I couldn't help a small shiver. In the corner of my eye, a noticed a white mouse in the rafter over Louise's head watching the whole affair. Its nose twitched once, before it soundlessly scurried away back to its nest.

After looking at me for a few more moments, Louise shook her head and passed me the blouse with pursed lips.

Soon after that I was dressed up to her satisfaction, in a neat creaseless uniform with smooth wavy hair hanging down to my cheeks. It was a little uncomfortable because the skirt didn't have a hole for my tail, and I made note to put one in later. In the mirror I looked a good match for Louise once she was done adjusting the bolo tie around my neck.

Was I to join this strange army? Was that why they summoned me here?

"'_Showing you off' am I?" _Louise's chuckle sounded a little dark to me. "_Kirche can call it as she likes, but there's no reason to hide you away in the room when we have the whole afternoon._"

...Was she monologuing to herself?

"_Of course it's only natural my familiar should accompany me as I go for a walk around the school grounds. And if she and all the others see and be made to swallow their words, then that's just a nice little bonus. Yes, that's all it is. A pleasant little side effect."_

...And cackling?

"_You'll rue the day yet, _**_Zerbst_**_!"_

* * *

**AN: Personally, I think it's nice to see Louise so pleased.**

**Yay or nay on the exposition sword?**

**Edit: I'm writing and uploading these daily. Without a beta, errors are inevitable. If you spot any kindly let me know so I can fix them please.**

**Edit 2: Changed my mind about how I wanted to forshadow some things with Louise's mp, so I adjusted it. Nothing important really. Normally I'd have more time to think things over before I upload each chapter, but I've challenged myself to write and update this daily, so each update will be less carefully planned than I'm used to.**


	6. Chapter 6

Today had been perfect. Yes, there was the incident where my new familiar cast a spell on me that left me in convulsions for the better part of an hour. One could also point out my summoning spell, though successful, was no less explosive than any of my previous spells. And of course, Kirche had remained a thorn in my side as usual… But none of those were going to make it into the letter I penned for my mother.

Thus, for all intents and purposes, the day had been perfect.

The afternoon was spent together with Raphtalia in the garden, teaching her Tristanian which she seemed to be learning very quickly. She usually only needed to hear an example of something once to remember it though that might be due to her age, children learn fast after all. At the moment we were still on simple nouns and verbs, but I was confident that under my tutelage she would soon be putting together basic sentences.

Some of my classmates had mocked me for not simply casting a translation spell, and for a moment I was sorely tempted. I was certainly angry enough to try it, if only to shut my peers up. But there, under the afternoon son, standing next to the blackened crater I'd made when I summoned Raphtalia, she stared up at me with her large, guileless eyes, and I thought better of it.

Yes, my summoning spell had succeeded, but not without side effects. There was no point in casting a translation spell if my familiar would not survive the experience. And there was no way I would endure the humiliation of asking someone else to cast it for me. Kirche had immediately offered to do it herself, obviously without any real sincerity. The look on her face… We'll see how smug she looks after I cast a translation spell on her!

It seemed to me that slow but steady progress would do just fine for now. It would merely mean a little extra work and patience on my part to bring Raphtalia up to speed, but it would be worth it.

I'd brought her into the dining room with me for dinner, which had drawn some complaints from the other students, but it wasn't my fault they'd summoned mere beasts. Raphtalia was intelligent and civilised, of course she should eat indoors. She also had good table manners, I was pleased to discover.

Now we were back in my room, and I was sitting at my desk drafting a letter for my mother, outlining my success in summing. Sure, it wasn't as impressive as mother's manticore, but Raphtalia was a unique creature in her own right and had magic of her own. Possibly triangle class wind magic, if that jolt of electricity was anything to judge by. Once I was satisfied with the draft, I'd use my formal stationary with the academy seal to compose a more carefully calligraphed letter.

Behind me, Raphtalia was going through the contents of her travel pack, laying out everything inside it on the floor in neat rows. At first I thought she was checking to make sure everything was there, but after a while she started unthreading the cord from some of her little packages of dried food. She couldn't be hungry, could she? We'd just had dinner.

As I watched through the reflection of my dresser mirror, she took a simple wooden bowl, and set a piece of old cheese under it on the floor. Then she tied a length of very thin cord between two twigs she'd gotten from the courtyard, and propped the bowl up with the twigs so the cord was taut. Her tail wagging slightly, she leaned forward to touch the cord with the tip of her pinky finger, causing the bowl to fall down over the cheese.

It took me a moment to realise what she was doing. Why was she making a mouse trap?

"Raphtalia." I turned around and called her name.

Her ears perked and she faced me, her tail now straight.

"What are you doing?" I pointed a finger at the simple device.

She stared at me for a long moment, before murmuring something to me in her own language. "_A mouse or a rat is worth one xp, each. If I can catch ten of them, we can both reach level two." _Her statement was accompanied by hand gestures that didn't help me understand much better at all. What was she counting?

At any rate, it seemed harmless enough, so I let her continue. It wasn't like she was going to catch anything. The castle had wards to keep rodents and unwanted pests away, in addition to many of the student's familiars being cats. A mouse that made its way into the school didn't seem likely to survive for very long.

After I was satisfied with my initial draft of the letter, I took Raphtalia to the bath to get cleaned before we headed to bed together. While we were both in the water I got another look at the strange purple mark on her chest. It was rather sinister looking to me, but without any written characters I could see, I had no way of ascertaining its purpose.

"What is that?" I asked her, pointing at it.

"_Do you mean my slave mark? I belong to Naofumi, the shield hero."_

Well that wasn't helpful. I pointed at it again. "What?" I repeated, followed by an exaggerated shrug of my shoulders.

She seemed to guess at my meaning after a moment's thought. "_Slave."_

"'Slayv.'" I repeated after her. "What's 'slave'? What is a 'slave'?"

She visibly searched her memories. "Servant?" It sounded like she was guessing, or maybe uncomfortable with the word choice, but it was the word I had taught her when I pointed at one of the castle staff earlier, so she must have known what it meant.

"So that marks a servant?" I mused aloud, looking at the crest. It seemed cruel to me, raphtalia was so very young, and no doubt such a large tattoo would have hurt quite badly. Perhaps her employer would miss her after all if he went to the expense of marking her so? I would not be inclined to hand her over to such vile people as to nearly torture a small child, whoever they were. Even if that child _wasn't _my familiar.

When we left he tub I ordered her, "Help me get dressed."

Raphtalia said she had been trained as a servant but she simply looked up at me confused.

After pointing at the clothes and holding out my arms for her, she eventually got the idea and helped me change. I repeated the same act for my nightgown, and she wordlessly helped with that too. Afterwards I handed her my hairbrush and indicated my hair, and was quite pleased when she needed no further prompting. Her strokes were smooth and gentle, and tugged at my roots no more than necessary. I dare say the help at my father's estate wouldn't do a better job.

The contented sigh I gave when I lay down in my bed seemed well earned to me. What an excellent day it was. I even had tomorrow to look forward to, when I could begin to explore what Raphtalia's magical abilities were. Whatever that lightning was I was eager to see more of it, though hopefully not directed at me.

After seeing me lay down, she took the bedroll from out of her backpack and laid that on the floor next to my bed. This was a sensible alternative to sharing, no doubt, though I couldn't help but feel a touch of disappointment… I could just order her to put it away... No, Raphtalia was being sensible. The rule of steel. If Raphtalia didn't feel the need to be hugged as she slept, then there was no excuse for me as the elder here to give in to such weaknesses either.

Though it might have been nice.

Hours later I was awoken by sniffling and whimpering. When I sat up I found the room too dark to see, so I stood and drew back the curtains to let in some light from the two moons. Raphtalia seemed to be having a nightmare of some kind.

Rubbing the sleep from my eye I quietly moved over beside her and knelt down on her bedroll. "Raphtalia." I shook her slightly. "Wake up, please. You're having a-"  
With deep shuddering intake of breath, Raphtalia eyes came open and she stared at me with fright, babbling incoherently. "_Where am I- Who are- Wha..."_

Then I noticed my knee was feeling damp. Quickly, I pulled Raphtalia's blanket out of the way, and found a spreading wet patch beneath it.

My nose wrinkled in distaste and I quickly stood up.

As she stared at my reaction, then at the mess she'd made, Raphtalia's fear seemed to melt away to be replaced by embarrassment, then frustration. She pouted, staring down, unable to meet my eyes. "_I promise to level back up as soon as I can."_

This was… definitely a downside to things I hadn't anticipated.

* * *

**AN: Please call out any errors you see so I can fix them.**


	7. Chapter 7

The new mark on my hand was smaller and uglier than the old one on my chest. Louise slept soundly beside me while I stared up at it. The Melomarc slave crest may have had an ominous look to it, but it was composed of purple geometric shapes and at least had some symmetry in its form. By comparison, the one louise placed on my hand looked more like a cattle brand.

I suppose when I'm back to my old level I'll just wear my gloves again most of the time.

It had been disheartening to slowly realise what was happening here. A slave, possibly a handmaid... That was all Louise intended for me, and I couldn't help but feel just a bit undervalued.

An odd reaction maybe, but I'd never really desired freedom after Naofumi took me in. After a lifetime of traveling and fighting monsters with the ambition to save the world and clear Naofumi's name, or at least a lifetime by demihuman standards, being a handmaid felt like something that was too little to me. I clenched the hand I held over my head into a fist and sat up.

Far too little.

Avoiding that meant growing stronger, even without Louise's permission. The language barrier was the perfect excuse to misinterpret her commands and slip away from time to time. I wasn't sure where we were exactly, and I knew it would be more dangerous without Naofumi to protect and heal me, not to mention a lot slower if I had other duties to attend to, but I was determined to start hunting monsters today if I could.

The mousetrap was disappointingly empty. No sign of the rodent, or the bait either for that matter. I'd have to think of a better trap...

My sigh of disappointment awoke louise before my relentless quest for XP could begin. It seemed that after my satisfactory work last night she considered it my duty to brush her hair and dress her every morning and evening from now onwards. After that she signaled for some of the help to come and clean up the mess I'd made of my bedroll, which was currently rolled up and sitting in the hall just outside her dorm.

A child's body meant a child's bladder. I would have to be careful from now on about using the privy before bed, and not drinking too much at dinner.

On the way to the dining hall for breakfast, I couldn't help but notice that same white mouse in the rafters just outside Kirche's room. It must have its nest somewhere in the girls dorms.

Breakfast was served in the manner of a banquet and given that no one expressed an unusual amount of interest in it, I can only assume it's served like this every morning. Good. Once my growth spurts started I'd be taking full advantage of that.

"_Are you looking forward to class today, Louise?" _Kirche came to talk to Louise the moment she saw her, Tabitha trailing along quietly behind.

"_And why wouldn't I be, Zerbst?" _Already they were bickering by the tone.

"_No reason at all. I'm sure your familiar will look forward to a practical demonstration of your magical abilities." _

Whatever she said made Louise freeze up briefly, before replying. "_Actually, I was thinking Raphtalia would simply be bored by a lecture in a language she doesn't speak, and I don't think it will help her learn much either. Obviously, it would be best if she waited in the courtyard with the other familiars."_

Kirche walked away laughing. Louise must have told a good joke, then. "_And it had nothing to do with embarrassing yourself in front of your new familiar at all? You're so transparent, Zero!"_

What was that name everyone kept calling Louise? Was it her nickname?

"_What I do with my familiar is my own business, cow!" _Louise's shrill voice calling out across the dining hall turned heads towards her, all of whom she glared at defiantly before sitting down and grumbling to herself.

After breakfast I was taken out to the courtyard, where all the strange creatures I'd seen yesterday were assembled. And they were _strange_. Exotic birds and pink rabbits were the least remarkable among them, and they absolutely paled compared to a giant flying eyeball that my HUD named a 'bugbear', a lizard that was larger than a mastiff with a fire at the end of its tail, apparently called a 'salamander', and a blue dragon that was of the 'rhyme' variety... Whatever that meant.

I thought a bugbear was a type of goblin?

Looking at all of them, I couldn't help the adventurer's instinct that wanted to know just how much XP each of them would be worth. Some of my thoughts must have appeared on my face, as the bugbear zoomed away from me with a nervous air about it.

"_Stay here, Raphtalia. __**Stay**__." _Louise patted my head, before raising her voice while looking at Kirche, "_And if you feel like shocking Kirche's nasty lizard with some of that lightning, I'm sure it won't do it any real harm."_

After that, she turned and walked away, leaving me there alone. I watched her back as she retreated into the building, surprised but pleased at the time I was suddenly getting to myself. Some of the staff where moving through the courtyard, though they weren't playing particular attention to me. No one else was around other than the beasts.

There was no reason I couldn't leave, right?

My thoughts were interrupted when the salamander dropped a stick on the ground in front of me, before looking up at me expectantly, tongue lolling and tail wagging.

"Sorry, but I've got things to do."

It continued to stare up at me, large eyes pleading.

"Okay, maybe once." I relented after a moment. "Once." I repeated more firmly.

A few minutes later, with hands now covered in lizard slobber, I quietly made my way through the castle in search of my weapons. It was as I remembered it, and I soon found myself just down the corridor from Colbert's office. Crouching low and creeping slowly, I approached the edge and listened intently. My large ears weren't for decoration, and after a moment I heard the very slight sound of a page turning from inside the room. Peeking around the corner, I saw the door to Colbert's office was ajar, with just enough space for me to slip through.

I backed up the corridor so I wouldn't be overheard, before saying in a clear, low voice to myself, "As source of thy power, I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and conceal me in a haze." The invisibility washed over me, and I smiled, pleased. I only had enough MP to cast this spell once, and I wouldn't be able to hold it for much more than a minute or two, but that should be enough.

Soundlessly, I slipped through the door into his office, and found my weapons exactly where I'd seen them last. They were all lined up in a row on top of one of his desks, except for the magic sword which he seemed to be making a sketch of for his notes. Quickly, but gently, I moved over to the table and put my hand on the dagger, closing my fingers around the hilt. It took a few more precious seconds and another point of MP, but my invisibility soon concealed the dagger as well.

Colbert suddenly standing up nearly made me jump, and I froze, scared to move in case he heard me. His slow steps brought him up right next to me, his warmth invading my personal space and raising the hairs on the back of my neck. I dared not breath even as my pulse raced. Carefully, he reached out and placed the magic sword down with the other weapons, adjusting it slightly so it was parallel, before he blinked slowly staring directly at the spot where my hand was.

Had he spotted me? My grip on the hilt tightened, my knuckles invisibly turning white.

"_Oh, what did I do with that dagger?" _He grumbled something to himself while looking over his shoulder, before walking back over to his desk and rummaging around in search of something.

Without waiting for a moment longer, I scurried out of the room, my footsteps sounding far too loud to me even if they raised no alarm from him.

I ran back through the castle halls, slowing down only whenever a staff member came close, where I would try to act casual. Many of them noticed me and looked at me strangely, but none of them called out for help or tried to stop me.

Back in Louise's room, I improvised a belt for the dagger sheath with a length of cord, before emptying my bag of everything, but my food, a waterskin, and the HP and MP potions Colbert hadn't taken from me. With my tools ready for adventure, I crept back down the stairs, and crossed the courtyard towards the castle wall, completely unnoticed by anyone except for the blue dragon which suddenly bent down in front of me as I passed in front of it.

Its large azure eyes blinked slowly at me as it crooned softly. I was afraid it would make more noise so I quickly dug out some dried meat. Chewing on the tough, salty flesh distracted it enough that I got away with one last appreciative pat on the nose before making good my escape.

On the castle walls I could see a wide open plain stretching out for miles until it came to an abrupt end at the edge of a forest.

Perfect.

Now all I had to find where some balloons.

* * *

**AN: Please call out any errors you notice.**


	8. Chapter 8

At first I was worried that escaping the castle might present a challenge, and I'd have to burn an MP potion so I could cast another invisibility spell on myself. However I soon discovered that except for staff members moving between towers, the walls were unpatrolled entirely. Not only that, but most of the servant were confined to a small square building next to the main building, and all the other adults were indoors along with the teenagers.

The gate wasn't even closed! Actually, I'm not sure the gate existed at all. It looked more like a large, archway to me than a gate I'd normally see on a castle, but I suspected they had some kind of magic to close it should they have to.

On the whole, the castle, despite its walls and towers, gave me the impression of being something more like a palace than a fortress. Though I hadn't met whoever their king or lord was yet, I couldn't help but wonder why he had so many teens inside his walls.

That was ultimately a problem for another time, though. Right then my main concern was finding some kind of monster, which proved to be far more problematic than escaping had been.

I wandered through the plains for more than an hour without any sign of a single demon rabbit, or even a balloon. It was a warm day, though the breeze was cool and snaked through the grass in rolling ripples like the surface of a pond. Even without any monsters to defeat I was glad to be out of the castle if nothing else, though I was conscious of the time.

The problem might have been that the plains were too open. There were a few shrubs and bushes here and there, but for the most part it was just low grass, scarcely higher than my knees as far as the eye could see in all directions. Any large creature out here would be fairly easy to spot, so if there were any small monsters no doubt they saw me from a distance and avoided me.

Very soon I found myself choosing between searching the plains for somewhere with longer grass, or making for the forest I saw from the castle wall. The choice between wandering aimlessly, and heading for a tangible goal was clear.

Another hour passed before the forest came into sight, and I found myself a little tired just from the distance I'd walked. Since I'd returned to being a child, my stamina was drastically reduced. I remember, back when I'd been adventuring with Naofumi he'd been patient if grumpy with my need for regular breaks.

Before entering the forest I took the time to sit and have a snack, while observing the treeline. The forest didn't look especially dense, though the trees were large and old. Between the edge of the plains and the forest I could see some promising animal tracks. Some sort of canine, probably wild dogs. They could actually be very dangerous to me in my current form, and they would smell and hear me approaching, so my invisibility wouldn't be particularly effective.

The fact that they were there though, meant there was prey around, smaller creatures like demon rabbits if I was lucky. Poisonous skunks, maybe some sentient vegetables.

After my break I pressed on into the shade of the forest, moving more quietly in the still air between the trees than out in the plains. I found a small animal trail leading right up to the edge of a murky pond, then away into the trees again. It was summer, and fairly warm even under the cover of the trees. Sweating would be dangerous if the smell alerted monsters, so I took it slow and avoided exerting myself more than necessary.

The minutes ticked by, before eventually I heard something that sounded promising.

"Graw!" I scratchy, high pitched voice called out. Goblin's sounded the same everywhere it seemed.

The racket was coming from the other side of a small but steep hill with earthy scar like ridges in its side. Rather than climb over, I circled around while sticking to the trees, and came to recognize the smell of blood as I did. Eventually, crawling between a set of bushes, I found myself watching a pair of goblins as they crudely skinned a dog together.

One of them was holding the carcass steady, babbling at its companion excitedly, while its partner sawed a thin, nearly blunt knife against the bloody body. There was a rope around the dog's neck, so I guessed they'd caught it in a trap. With that in mind, I looked around the trees and bushes for anything that looked like a snare or obvious pitfall, and found nothing.

Were they alone? Goblins were pack animals that existed in small tribes or clans of at least ten goblins. If these two were here by themselves, then there had to be more nearby…

With my level as low as it was and my body so underdeveloped, I decided to use caution and wait. Soon enough my patience was rewarded when from the other side of the ridge, a third goblin tumbled down the hill, gibbering excitedly. It presented a new knife to the one who'd been doing the skinning, who snatched it from the other goblin's hand and went back to work with the new tool.

Three goblins would be quite risky to face with just my dagger… If I waited and followed them they could lead me back to their tribe for a future hunt...

No, that was being greedy. There was no reason for me to plan the extermination of a tribe when I wasn't even level two yet. Just these three would be challenge enough if I wasn't careful.

After a while, the goblin holding the corpse down swapped with the newcomer, and scuttled off to face a nearby tree. The sound of running water filled the air, and I realised what he was doing as strong smelling fluid leaked down the trunk to mingle with its roots and the soil.

Immediately seizing the chance, I chanted the words for my invisibility spell, and crept forwards as the light magic settled over me.

The goblin holding the body might have overheard me, seeing the way it looked up suddenly, but it didn't react as I approached, so it mustn't have been certain I was there. None of them seemed to suspect a thing as I moved around behind them.

GANDALFR MODE, ACTIVE.

Just as I was about to lunge, a notification popped into my vision that I dismissed without reading. Holding the dagger overhand, I reached my arm around the armed goblin's neck and drew back. Dark, brownish red blood spurted from its neck, coating its companions neck and my arms. Immediately, its companioned squealed and tripped over backwards onto his bottom. A notification popped up into my vision.

21 XP!

CONGRATULATIONS LVL UP!

I ignored it, and lunged forward, bring my dagger down right into the heart of the goblin in front of me. It fell dead instantly, and I looked up to see the one by the tree rushing at me, crude hatchet in hand. Without even thinking about it and despite the fact I'd never practiced how to do so, my hand whipped forward, throwing the dagger at the creature.

GANDALFR MODE, INACTIVE.

Its left eye exploded with a spray of gore, and the creature was bowled off its feet, its head bouncing into the ground harshly. Somehow it was still alive, squealing pain and clawing at the wound in its face, hatchet forgotten on the ground next to it. Unusually, the axe felt as light in my hand as the dagger did, and I easily brought it down into the goblins neck with an overhead strike.

My HUD quickly tallied up the total XP I'd earned, as well as the stats I got from leveling up, which I read before dismissing. Apparently I was getting extra stats on level up from being an '_**ERROR**_ MAGE'S FAMILIAR.' When I saw that word, 'familiar', the only thing that came to mind were the many kinds of creatures I'd fought with Naofumi that had borne that name. Weren't the servants of that giant turtles called 'familiars' too?

Also inside the menu, I found a new ability I'd gotten from somewhere.

GANDALFR MODE: When wielding a weapon in battle, gain mastery of all related weapon techniques. In addition, receive a substantial stat boost to STR, SPD, and PDR.

I blinked slowly as I read that, and checked the size of the stat boost, only to come away shocked.

It seemed that whole goblin tribe might not be out of my reach today after all...

* * *

**AN: Would Raphtalia know what a school is? It doesn't seem like the sort of thing they've have in Melomarc, they struck me as rather primitive. There's probably a university somewhere in the country, but I doubt Raphtalia would ever have visited it.**

**Please call out any errors you spot so that I can correct them.**


	9. Chapter 9

The morning's classes were filled with a restless energy that kept most of my peers from their work. While I was careful to pay attention and keep notes, I could see just a few seats down from me, Guiche de Gramont and Montmorency de Montmorency where staring into each other's eyes while swapping sweet nothings on a shared notebook. Across the hall from me, Kirche had one indecently bare leg up on the table while leaning back in her chair to offer the nearby boys in the room glimpses of her undergarments. Utterly indecent. Even Tabitha, who I knew to be just as studious as me had her nose buried deeply in a book that was far too large to be related to the class at all.

The teacher should have been prepared to drag their wandering eyes back to him and his lecture, but he seemed to have given up on that front. Every few minutes he'd make a token effort to quiet down anyone too loud and resume with his lesson regardless of whether or not anyone was paying attention.

Even I, despite my best efforts, felt my eyes begin to wander after a while. We only had morning classes today. The rest of it would be spent getting to know our familiars in much the same way as yesterday afternoon had been. It didn't help that it was just the day before the weekend. Only a few hours to go and we could all take a slightly longer than usual break from our studies.

21 XP!

CONGRATULATIONS LVL UP!

I jerked violently in my chair as words sprang forth into my view in thin, plain easily read Tristanian. Not that their legibility helped me understand what they said very much.

The fat boy who was my neighbour must have noticed my shocked jump as he turned to me with a half curious face. I met his expression with a challenging stare of my own, even as two more sets of similar text jumped into my vision. After a long moment, he looked back to the front and stared off into space again.

What on earth was this spell Raphtalia had cast on me? Directly in the middle of my line of sight, a small box had appeared, and no matter where I turned my eyes it remained the centre of my vision. Almost instinctively I reached out to touch it, and a small tone played in my ears before it disappeared. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out the purpose of it.

Only some of the words this illusion fed to me were in Tristanian, the rest I suspected were in Raphtalia's native language. Throughout the day as I listened to conversation or talked to someone, it would suddenly translate a new word or two into my native runes, but it rarely helped me understand much. For a while I'd suspected this was some kind of slow working translation spell, but its choice of _what _to translate left my baffled.

Half an hour later, a dozen more square boxes full of text popped into view, all bearing similar messages. What was XP? Why was I receiving so much of it suddenly? Their arrival was spread out very haphazardly, some happening in rapid succession, not even a second between them, and others were separated from the rest by as much as four or five minutes. Tallying up the boxes left me with fourteen separate messages.

With only a ten minute break between our lessons, it was a long time before classes finally ended and we were set free for the afternoon and coming weekend.

"Did you nearly fall asleep, Zero?" Apparently Kirche had seen my jump. "Not that studying seems to have helped your magic much, anyway."

"Stuff it, Zerbst." I grumbled, only feeling token outrage.

When we came to courtyard our familiars had been left in, we all broke apart to find out individual companions. Everyone other than me, that was. Raphtalia seemed to have disappeared. I huffed out an annoyed breath, but wasn't overly worried.

She had most likely just wandered off when she got bored. Chances were she'd be in the room, playing with her things or some such. While everyone else was playing with their familiars, I returned to the girls dorms and climbed the stairs back to my room.

I found the room emptier than I left it, Raphtalia's pack was missing, though some of her other things were laid out on the bedroom floor. My familiar wasn't there, but I suspected she had returned here at one point. Really, I should probably make room in my drawer her for her things, just to help avoid needless crude rat trap she'd made had bait in it again, and some of the help had cleaned her bedroll and laid it out on the floor next to my bed.

Suddenly the door swung open behind me, and I turned to see Raphtalia standing there in the doorway. On her back was her traveling pack, and there was a sour, almost rotten smell clinging to her, though her hands and face were clean. I noticed the arms of her blouse were wet, where she'd washed whatever the source of the smell was off, but the white sleeves still had brown stains clinging to them.

What concerned me most though, was the dagger strapped to her hip. She noticed my gaze, and the expression of someone caught in the middle of something they weren't supposed to be doing was universal across our species, it seemed.

"What's that?" I said sharply, pointing at the blade. "Did Colbert give that back to you?"

At Colbert's name, her ears lowered, and she broke eye contact.

There was no way she could have asked for it back, so she must have snuck into his office and stole it at some point. Well, I suppose it wasn't really stealing when it was hers in the first place. "Raphtalia, bring it here." I ordered sternly, holding my hand out.

I could see different desires warring over her features, before she unlooped the dagger, sheath and all, from her belt and walked forward to offer it to me. As she reached out, I grabbed her wrists and checked her soiled sleeves. I was hardly an expert in these matters, but I doubted the help would be able to get the discolouration out. "These are Tabitha's clothes, Raphtalia." I heaved out a sigh. I didn't like damaging other people's things, especially when they'd been kind enough to loan it to me in the first place. It wasn't responsible, or honourable.

She just looked up at me without comprehension.

"Tabitha." I repeated, pinching the cloth between my thumb and forefinger in front of her face. "You're going to have to apologise to her, especially when she was kind enough to loan these to you."

"Tabitha?" Raphtalia repeated, confused.

I paused for a moment, thinking of how to explain it. Tugging on my own shirt, I said aloud, "Louise's shirt." Then I reached out for her bag strap. "Raphtalia's bag." Then I pointed at the shirt she was wearing. "Tabitha's shirt."

Comprehension came over her features, followed by guilt.

The same feeling flared up in me too, looking at her saddened features. "I'm sure it will be okay if you apologise." I murmured, ruffling her hair. "Come on." I took the bag off her shoulders and placed it at the foot of my bed, before leading her out the door by the hand, only to stop when I felt some resistance from her.

When I looked back at her, she slowly pointed at the blade in my hand. "Raphtalia's _dagger?_"

It took me a moment to realise exactly what she meant. "Dagger." I corrected her, holding it up.

"Raphtalia's dagger?" She repeated.

She wasn't wrong about that. I had been planning on returning it to Colbert, but looking down into her large eyes, I couldn't help but feel guilty. It was hers, as far as I was aware, or her previous master's anyway. Maybe it wasn't right for me to take it from her...

"We can ask Colbert." I demurred after a moment. "Apologise for stealing the dagger from his office, and then we'll see if he'll let you keep it."

She didn't seem to understand the answer, but offered no more resistance when I led her down out of the room and down the stairs.

In the courtyard I found Tabitha, patting her wind dragon on the nose. The large beast sniffed the air as we approached, looking at Raphtalia and cooing before shaking its head and backing off a step. The mage in question turned to face us as we approached, neutrally staring without offering a greeting.

"Hello Tabitha, I just came to apologize to you. It seems my familiar has made a mess of the clothes you lent to me."

Tabitha blinked slowly, before leaning forward to examine for herself. "Goblin blood." She said aloud.

"What?"

"This smell. Goblin blood." She leaned back, meeting my gaze.

"Are you sure?" I repeated, disbelieving. She would have to have traveled miles to leave the plains before she encountered any of those creatures.

Tabitha nodded. "Certain."

It took me a moment to wrap my head around that, before I came up with the most reasonable answer. "It's most likely just an alchemy component she got into."

"...Plausible." Tabitha consented.

"Well, it doesn't strike me as likely that she found any near the castle." Shaking my head, I continued in a disbelieving tone. "Or that she would return to us in one piece if she did. Regardless, Raphtalia."

Her ears perked up when she heard her name.

"Say you're sorry." I pushed her forward so she was between me and Tabitha. "I'm sorry, Tabitha."

I had to repeat it a few times, before Raphtalia said in a small voice. "I'm sorry, Tabitha."

The apology was accepted stoically, and I promised to replace her uniform when I was in town this weekend.

* * *

**AN: Kind of an abrupt ending, I guess.**

**If you spot any errors, please let me know so I can correct them.**


	10. Chapter 10

The older human, Colbert, stared down at me with disbelief. Glancing between my face and the dagger in his hand, he seemed to hardly believe his own eyes.

"_It seems we must investigate what abilities your familiar has sooner rather than later, Miss Valliere."_ He looked back towards Louise, before adding something else almost under his breath. "_That or, my memory is worse than the Headmaster's."_

"_What do you mean, Professor?"_ Louise sounded confused.

"_I mean to say, this dagger was in this office when I arrived this morning, and I have been in here all day. There's only one door and nowhere to hide, Miss Valliere._" His gaze turned back to me. "_Though I may not have been keeping a close watch for intrusion, I struggle to believe someone could have entered without me knowing unless they had magical aid."_

"_Really?" _

I suddenly found myself the subject of both their gazes, and some childish instinct drove me back a step as I hunched my shoulders.

"_Don't run away."_ Louise murmured something to me, before stepping behind me and pushing me a pace forward. "_Say, 'I'm sorry, Professor Colbert.'"_

I recognised those words. My guess was that she wanted me to apologise to Colbert in much the same way she made me apologise to Tabitha earlier. It was strange being treated like a child again, but I guess I was a child again, so it was best to act like one. I lowered my eyes and bowed my head like I learned from Naofumi. "I'm sorry, Professor Colbert."

"_Apology accepted," _He gave me a considering look. "_Her accent isn't familiar to me at all, really we should find out where she's from…"_

"_I'd be interested to know as well, it sounds not all like Germanian, Albionese, Gallian or any other that I know of..." _

The two of them started to converse about things I couldn't follow. I waited a while for them to finish before growing tired. Tugging lightly on the bottom of Louise's sleeve brought her attention to me. "Raphtalia's dagger?" I said it in a questioning tone, holding it up.

"_Right, I'll ask for you." _She looked back to Colbert. "_She wants to keep her dagger."_

"_Hmm…" _He thought about it for a while. "_From what I can tell it's just a normal dagger, but still… It seems dangerous to let her wander around with it."_

"_But it does belong to her, Professor."_

"_True… It doesn't seem fair, does it?" _He tapped his lip thoughtfully. "_I'll tell you what, Miss Louise. She's your familiar and thus your responsibility. I'll give you the dagger, and if you see fit you can allow her to keep it. Once I'm done with my research on these other things, I'll pass them onto you as well."_

"_Thank you, Professor." _Louise curtsied, and he handed her the dagger with its sheath.

They talked a little more after that, until they were interrupted by a rumbling sound. It was embarrassing to have them both stare at me at once, but it was a good sign that I'd be growing again soon. "_Well, I guess it's time for the both of us to get lunch, then. Have a good day Professor."_

Blushing, I was led away by hand again. Louise held onto my dagger until we were out of sight, before signalling over a servant and handing it to her. "_Have that brought to my room, please."_

The servant curtsied and carried my blade away.

We arrived at the dining hall a short moment later, and Louise sat me down in the seat next to her. Food was served, simple ham and cheese sandwiches, and I immediately devoured mine before asking for another.

I was on my third plate, and about to ask for another when Louise said to me in a chiding tone, "_Raphtalia, there's no need to be quite so gluttonous."_

I'm pretty sure I could guess what she was complaining about, but feigned ignorance. With any luck over the coming days, I would have a lot of growing to do. Goblins would only carry me so far of course, with each level I gained requiring an exponential amount of XP to take me to the next, but surely I could at least reach level ten and most of the way to my adult form before moving to any truly far ranging hunts. As my strength and stamina improved, I could travel further, and faster than I did today, so I should be able to find creatures like orcs at the feet of mountains or giant frogs in any swamps.

In the time it took Louise to finish her first plate, I finished four, during which Kirche came over to play with her for a while. We went back to our room afterwards, where she made me change my blouse to a clean one and gave the soiled one I was wearing to a servant. Then she sat at the desk and took out a sheet of parchment and began to write. What she was writing I wasn't sure, but she was willing to give me a scrap of paper and a spare quill when I asked for it.

"_We say, 'please.'" _She took the chance to have me memorise a few new words.

"Please." I repeated. "Please, give paper."

My handwriting was never very good due to me learning to read so late in life, though it was better than Naofumi's. On the sheet I wrote every letter in the alphabet I knew, before showing it to Louise. Once I started sounding out the letters in turn, she seemed to understand my intention. She wrote out her own alphabet in a very elegant style, before going over the corresponding sounds with me.

Within a few hours I had them all memorised.

"_Very good, Raphtalia." _She ruffled my hair, and gave me a smile that I couldn't help but return. "_You really are very clever."_

By that time my stomach started to rumble again, which shocked Louise quite a bit. I'm not sure why, though. It's possible she didn't know much about demi-humans, I hadn't seen any around the castle. I should try to find a way to ask her about it…

We walked down the stairs and came into the courtyard, where I saw the young humans lounging about with each other and their familiars at a number of small picnic tables. The sunlight cast the scene in idyllic tones, as the well practiced maids brought over snacks and drinks for their young masters. Even from the other end of the courtyard, my nose picked out sweet smelling cakes and fragrant juices.

Before that though, I tugged on Louise's sleeve to get her attention. "Human." I said pointing at one of the servants, then at a loud blonde boy in a chair. "Human." I did the same for a number of others, before pointing to Louise. "Human."

The look on her face didn't give me hope she understood what I meant. One eyebrow was raised above the other, while she waited for me to clarify.

One of the familiars was a cat, so I pointed to that. "Cat." Then to the dragon. "Dragon." Once more I indicated Louise. "Human."

"_Ah, you mean species." _It took her a moment, before realisation came over her face and she pointed to herself. "_I am a __**human."**_ Then pointed to Kirche's red lizard. "_Salamander._"

She looked like she was about to continue, but before she did I interrupted her. Pointing to myself, I said, "Demi-human."

After a moment, Louise reached out and softly touched the ears atop my head. "'Demihuman'?" The word sounded odd on her lips, she pronounced the vowel sounds and the 'M' and 'N' oddly.

I nodded, before pointing out to the courtyard, and trying to put together the question I wanted to ask in her language. "Where demihuman?"

She pursed her lips for a moment before holding a finger up in the air. "One demihuman." We'd gone over our numbers earlier, and I suddenly got a sinking feeling in my stomach. She pointed at me. "Raphtalia _is the only _Demihuman."

I wasn't sure about the middle part of what she said. "One Demihuman, Raphtalia."

Louise nodded, smiling at me sadly. "_Don't worry, once we've worked past this language barrier, we might be able to find more of your kind."_

Suddenly I wasn't as hungry. That wasn't to say I didn't eat more than Louise. By the time I finished my second cake, Louise was still nibbling on her first. She didn't seem to be in a hurry, nor did she seem to need me for anything, so I rolled up my sleeves and went to play fetch with Flame for a while.

He really did make quite a mess of the stick though. His drool soon coated my hands in a sour, sweet-ish smelling layer of glistening fluid. I would definitely have to wash my hands before I did anything else. Throwing the stick one more time, I noticed something glimmering by the path. From where I stood I could see it was made of glass, and shining brightly as it caught the sun's light. I wandered over to investigate, and discovered a small glass bottle, an amber fluid inside. Turning it over in my hands, I popped open the lid and gave a sniff.

Perfume.

* * *

**AN: Guiche wouldn't challenge a child to a duel, would he? It would be a quite the indictment of his character if he did.**

**Please point out any mistakes you find.**


	11. Chapter 11

Raphtalia's tail slowly twitched with interest as she investigated something in the grass with Flame. It was amusing to watch them together from the comfort of my chair, though I was a little worried she might make a mess of another one of Tabitha's outfits. I let her go play fetch with the salamander because it hardly seemed fair to force her to sit and wait for me to finish eating, though I know that's what my mother would have done for me were I her age.

Maybe I was being too soft on her.

"What did you find there, Raphtalia?!" I called out to her, and felt the corners of my mouth turn up a little at the way her ears twitched at the sound of her own name. It was rather cute. "Bring it here!"

She stood up straight, and turned to jog back towards me with something clutched in her two hands that seemed to sparkle in the sunlight. Her hands glittered in a similar way, no doubt from Flame's spittle. The salamander followed along behind Raphtalia's heels, fire tipped tail wagging eagerly and almost tripping her at least once with his nose bumping into her ankles.

Where was Kirche, anyway? She should be the one taking care of Flame, not Raphtalia. It wasn't hard to spot the Germanian when I looked around. She was sitting at a table with a pretty young first year boy, drawing little circles on his hand with one finger. The hussy must have noticed me in the corner of her eye, because she smiled at me coquettishly and lazily waved a hand towards me.

I huffed in annoyance, just as Raphtalia approached and held a small square bottle out towards me. The strings of mucus connecting her fingers to the glass made me crinkle my nose. "I don't want to touch that, put it here." I patted to my right, and signalled over a maid.

With a soft clink, Raphtalia placed the bottle on the table, neck up.

"Get a rag, a pale of clean water, and wash her hands, please." I said to the black haired servant who came over.

"Right away, Milady." She curtsied and hurried off.

While she did that, I picked up a napkin and used it to turn the bottle without directly touching the slime with my hands. It was made of plain spun glass, with no adornment, and an amber coloured fluid rolled around inside it. It didn't take me long to recognise it, mainly due to the shape of its lid. There was a small indent inside for lifting a single drop at a time.

"_Perfume."_ Raphtalia said, pointing at it.

I wasn't sure if she meant the bottle or its contents. Shaking it slightly, so the fluid rolled around I nodded, and told her the Tristanian word, "Perfume. Perf-yoom."

"Perfume." She repeated, and I couldn't resist giving her a head pat. Really, what a clever little child she was.

The maid returned, and quickly wiped down Raphtalia's hands, while Flame got bored of being ignored and trotted off to lay down at Kirche's feet. I turned the bottle up by the neck, and found a small mark on the bottom of the glass. Two little M's, sitting right next to each other.

"Ah, Montmorency de Montmorency." I smiled, pleased to figure it out. My classmate made her own perfume, and must have dropped the bottle somewhere by accident. After the servant was done with Raphtalia, I handed her the bottle and said, "Clean this as well, please."

It would be easiest to just have the maid return it to her for us, but we were about to head back to our rooms and it seemed silly to not drop it off ourselves.

"Anything else, Milady?" The maid returned the now sparkling bottle to me.

"That will be all." I told her before turning to Raphtalia. "Did you have anything else you wanted to do this afternoon?"

Her large eyes blinked up at me without comprehension.

I guess not, then. Montmorency wasn't hard to find, her distinctive hair standing out even among other blondes due to the sheer effort she put into her neat ringlets. In addition, she often kept the company of Guiche de Gramont, who was a loud mouth at the best of times with a distinctive style in his own right.

Today the two of them were eating together at a table, Guiche complementing Montmorency relentlessly as she fed him pieces of cake. Frankly, it was repulsive. The two were not engaged, and even if they were it would be indecent. If my mother was aware of me behaving in such a way she would have me dragged back to my father's estate by the ear and locked away for another decade. Justly so, in my view.

I cleared my throat politely to alert them to my presence, and Montmerency shot me a venomous look for the interruption. "What is it, Zero?"

"Good afternoon to you, as well." I answered caustically, before placing the bottle on the table. "I believe this is yours? It has two M's on the bottom."

She eyed me suspiciously, before picking it up and taking a whiff, as Guiche helped himself to another bite of cake. "Yes, I made this. But I gave it to Guiche." Her sharp eyes suddenly turned to her paramour. "Why does Louise have it?"

He stared at her in unblinking comprehension, before some kind of realisation came over his features and he swallowed the food in his mouth without chewing at all. Quickly, he reached over for a goblet of juice and took a sip to clear his throat, before looking up at Montmorency. "Pardon?"

"I asked why Louise has the perfume I gifted to you, Guiche?"

"Uh, she may have found it somewhere I suppose. I don't see that it hardly matters." He smiled in what I assumed to be an attempt at charm that failed utterly on either of us.

Montmorency's eyes narrowed on him, before she looked back towards me. "Where did you find it, Louise?"

Was she getting suspicious of me, now? "Raphtalia found it in the grass when she was playing fetch with Flame."

"What was it doing in the grass?" She demanded, leaning forward.

"You would have to ask the person who left it there." I replied testily, and we both turned to face Guiche again.

"I-I suppose someone must have taken it from my-" He looked past me. "Your familiar, are you sure she didn't stash it in the grass for later? She could have easily taken it from my room while we were all in class."

All three of us looked to Raphtalia, who immediately became shy at the sudden attention. She stood there, glancing between the three of us, before taking a step to the side to hide behind me from the other two.

"Somehow I doubt it." I commented dryly. "She doesn't strike me as a criminal genius." Looking back towards Montmorency, I considered my next words carefully. "This doesn't particularly concern me. I saw Raphtalia find the bottle amidst some grass, and brought it back to you. Whatever judgement you make from this point, is entirely your-."

"U-unless that's not true." Guiche interrupted me loudly. "Who's to say your familiar really did find it in the grass, and you didn't simply have her bring it to you from my room."

"What exactly are you accusing me of, Guiche?" There was that grinding sound again, loudly in my ears. I would challenge anyone who said it was my teeth.

Suddenly, he smirked as he sat back in his chair. "Really, Louise, it's obvious what you're trying to do here. I'm flattered, but I'm sorry."

"What are you insinuating?" I enunciated each word slowly.

He continued, smug and triumphant. "Look, it's obvious you've had a _sad little_ crush on me for some time now, but trying to break me and Monty up is just far too low. One little success in the summoning ritual, and you've grown an awfully inflated view of yourself."

My mouth gaping, I stared at him for a long moment, before looking at Montmorency. "Do you actually believe this?"

Her eyes darted between the two of us, vulnerable and uncertain, before looking down. After a long moment her mouth hardened to a line, and she looked up to glare at me. "Really, Louise, I never thought you would sink so low."

That little _sow… _"Well, I see how it is." My fist clenched so hard I felt my nails digging into my palm. When I spoke every word was practically hissed between my lips. "Enjoy your time with him while it lasts, but just know this: His father would never agree to engage him to a house as low as yours, and anytime you spend with him in public will certainly be used against you at the negotiation table when your family inevitably marries you to an old, fat, merchant _peasant._"

Montmorency rocked back as if struck, staring at me in shock, as tears sprung up in her eyes.

"Apologise." Guiche demanded, furious.

"Do you intend to engage her?" I turned on him. "Will you write to your father tomorrow, proclaiming your love and demanding his blessings."

"I-I think that's none of your-"

"That's a no, then?" I cut across him. "Well, glad to see you're so dedicated."

Violently standing up, Montmorency's chair clattered to the ground as she stared at me angrily with tears in her eyes. "How dare you say that to me?!"

"I never said a thing that wasn't true." I met her eyes coldly.

"...Duel." She spat.

"What?" I frowned.

"I challenge you to a duel, Louise!"

* * *

**AN: Somehow I can easily picture Karin and her husband promoting a strictly conservative view of marriage and male/female relations. It might sound harsh to you or I, but I don't imagine it would be to unusual in late medieval Europe/Halkeginia. I could see Louise saying things like this, if she got particularly upset.**

**If you spot any errors please let me know so I can correct them. Really, please list any errors you see in a comment for me. I went over some of my previous chapters and was quite embarrassed by some of the ones I found, and I know there's more.**


	12. Chapter 12

The conversation was getting faster and angrier with each exchange, and I could only barely keep up with it when it began, let alone at this point. Returning someone's lost property should have been quite simple, but it seemed Louise's ability to find trouble was as great as Naofumi's. There was one thing I immediately and instinctively understood, though; the glove Montmorency ripped off and threw to the table in front of Louise.

In a tenth of a second, my world shrank and everything came together in my head. Young, hot blooded teens of high social standing, an argument over nothing at all, and that furious, hate-filled look on Montmorency's face. It wasn't the same as last time, but it was close enough that my eyes became pinpricks when Louise reached out to take up the glove.

My tiny fist smacked into the table loud enough that all three of them jumped in surprise. I'd had to lean forward and reach out to get between Louise's fingers and the glove, my white knuckles clenched tightly around together. The shock on her face made uncertainty stir in my stomach, but I spoke firmly when I did.

"**No.**" I turned my head so I could see both their eyes. "Bad." That was about the extent of my vocabulary in this language, but I hoped it got my meaning across. Then I used my fingers to push the glove back over to Montmerency's side of the table. "No." I repeated, meeting her eyes.

"_...Raphtalia has the right of it, I think."_ Louise was the first one to speak up. She cleared her throat before continuing. "_A duel would be illegal. Not to mention what would happen to the two of you even if you did defeat me."_

"_She's right, Monmon. It would probably be best to think this through-" _Guiche reached out to put his hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.

Whatever she said next was incomprehensible to me, sounding as much like a sob as it did a snarl. "_Zero!" _She drew in a shuddering breath and pointed a finger. "_You bring shame to your house, Zero!" _Then she snatched her glove from the table, turned on her heel and ran away.

My immediate instinct was to chase after her, but I barely knew her or even what her problem was, let alone how to comfort her.

I looked to Guiche, only to see him standing there awkwardly, before he fluffed his curly blonde locks, and turned to Louise. "_Really, you're such a brute, Louise." _He left with the perfume.

Louise breathed out loudly, and pinched the bridge of her nose. "_That was a fight I didn't need or ask for."_

All across the courtyard, people were staring shamelessly. The fight had been loud enough that even some of the castle's help had forgotten what they were doing as they stood and watched for a moment. The moment Louise's angry glare turned to them, they returned to themselves, facing each other before gossiping and giggling about the whole affair.

"_Come, Raphtalia." _Louise held out a hand for me.

I took it, finding her grip a little harder than I remembered, and together we crossed the courtyard. The voices faded behind us as we went up the spiral stairs to arrive at the second floor and Louise's bedroom.

The tension left her body as the door shut behind her, and Louise immediately slumped into her chair. She stayed there for a long moment, before getting out her writing set and starting to work on something.

With nothing else to do, and no instructions forthcoming, I got out my things and began working on mouse traps. If one trap wasn't enough to catch anything, I'd need to make more and put them in different places. It was better to do something with my hands, then try and break the awkward tension that filled the air.

Instead of repeating the same trap I'd made previously, I tried setting it up this time so there was no trip wire at all. Rather, the bowl was barely held up by just one twig, and the cheese was carefully perched atop the twig, between it and the bowl so that the mouse would have to lean on or climb the stick to get it. It was enormously fiddly to set it up right, and I could easily imagine it collapsing by accident, but it shouldn't be possible for the mouse to get the bait without triggering it.

"Raphtalia." Louise suddenly called my name, and I turned to face her. "Come here." She waved me over with her hand.

I placed the things I was working with on the ground and stood up, dusting off my knees before I approached her.

"Thank you." She reached out and ruffled my hair, then she placed the dagger and sheath in my hands. "_I think I can trust you with this, though you have to promise not to do anything bad with it."_

I wasn't sure at all what she said, but I smiled at her because I knew what to say when someone gives you something. "Thank you!"

A similar smile broke out on her face, and she ruffled my hair again before holding a finger in front of my nose. "_Yes, a good lesson for you today, that maybe I should learn too. Fighting is bad._ Fight-ing is Bad." She enunciated each syllable so I could follow.

"Fighting is bad." I repeated, though the only word I knew the meaning of was the last one. "Fighting?"

"Yes, fighting. _Like this._" She made a fist at me and shook it, before gently bumping it into my head. "Fighting."

Ah, I think I understood what she meant. "Fighting is bad." I agreed with a solemn nod.

"_That's a good girl." _She looked back to her letter before nodding. "_I'll post that to mother while we're in the capital tomorrow. Why don't you pack up your toys, then we'll have a bath and make for bed?" _At my uncomprehending look she tried again, pointing at my work. "_Clean it up. Clean."_

I put away all the traps, before being led downstairs for a bath. It was soothing until Kirche entered to interrupt us and drew Louise into a much less heated argument then one from earlier today. I was surprised to notice Louise staring at Kirche's chest multiple times throughout their discussion, and I didn't know enough about their what they were saying to be entirely sure why. Was she jealous that Kirche was larger, or jealous that Kirche had so many paramours? If it was hurting Louise's feelings, maybe Kirche could be a little less open with her collection of lovers?

We all left the bath at the same time. Embarrassingly, Louise made certain I visited the privy before we went back upstairs, though I understood her caution.

"_You seem surprisingly mature in your interactions with her, Zero. Did you have any younger siblings back home?"_

"_Not that its any business of yours, Zerbst, but I'm the youngest of three. I have no idea what you mean when you say me being mature is a surprise, I've always had excellent composure."_

"_Oh, you have, have you? Then what was that little tiff you had earlier this afternoon, then?"_

"_In a similar manner to before, it was none of your business, Zerbst."_

"_Well, you sent Montmorency away in tears, so I couldn't help but be curious. I'd be careful if I were you. She might have backed down from the duel, but she's quite the alchemist and has plenty of other ways of getting revenge."_

"_I'll have a maid taste my meals, then." _We came to the top of the stairs together. "_Don't be too loud with your guest tonight, Zerbst. Raphtalia needs her sleep."_

"_Goodnight to you too, Zero." _Kirche turned to leave, but I quickly grabbed the sleeve of her nightgown. "_Hmm? What is it?"_

I paused as I considered how best to answer, before I gave up and ran into the dorm room. A few moments later I came out with the components for one of my traps and presented it to her.

"_What is this, Louise?" _Kirche looked up.

"_She wants to set a mousetrap in your room, probably."_

"_Why?"_

"_I don't know yet, I think its her hobby."_

"_Maybe disease is a problem where she comes from, then?" _Kirche smiled at me before patting my head. "_Alright I don't mind, but I suspect Flame will take the cheese long before any mouse comes."_

It took a bit of time to set one up, so Zerbst let me into her room while she lay on her bed reading. Flame kept knocking the trap over while looking for me to scratch his neck, and I had to start again a few times, but I was satisfied with my work when I was done.

"Thank you." I bowed low to Zerbst, before moving to the door.

"_Goodnight_, Raphtalia." She chuckled.

"Good-nite?" I paused and repeated, looking to her from the doorway.

She put down her book and looked up at me, and amused smile on her features. Slowly she waved her hand at me. "Goodnight." She repeated.

Oh, that means goodbye, then? "Goodnight!" I waved back at her, before going back to Louise's room.

* * *

**AN: I'm writing these chapters daily, so I don't always know what will happen next. That seemed a fairly reasonable outcome to me, over all. Raphtalia often intervened to try and sand down the edges Naofumi's rougher interactions if I recall, so playing peacemaker seemed appropriate to me, even with her mind now being that of a child. I understand some of you were probably looking forward to a serious fight, though…**

**It's past midnight as I upload this, so technically this would be the first day I've missed an update.**

**Please let me know about any errors you find.**


	13. Chapter 13

Most mornings I was awoken some time before lessons began by the castle help, but on the days off I was usually free to sleep in until the light and warmth of the morning sun roused me. Mother would never have approved of such a slothful start to the day at home, and she was of course right to do so, but my time at the academy gave me the opportunity to indulge and I couldn't help but take advantage of it. That was how the morning of my weekend would normally go, but today a presence at the side of my bed woke me.

My eyes reluctantly opened to find my familiar beside me, gently shaking my hand. Her hair was ruffled from the night's rest, and sticking up at a number of odd angles, but she looked alert and not at all groggy like I felt. "Raphtalia?" I rubbed at one of my eyes. "What is it?"

Rather than answer, she walked around my bed to the curtain, before reaching up and throwing it open. I squinted as sunlight flooded the room, and held up a hand to block some of the glare. Then Raphtalia went to my desk and pulled the chair out, before coming around to my side of the bed and grabbing my hand. She tugged on it gently, and I reluctantly followed her guidance from the warmth of the bed to the seat, then she took up my brush and began to gently stroke it through my hair while humming to herself. The tune was unfamiliar to me, but between it and the relaxing sensation of the brush, I almost felt myself nodding off back to sleep.

Blinking to get some of the sand from my eye, and yawning loudly, I tried asking her again. "Why did you wake me up?"

"..." The stroking of the brush stopped and in the mirror, I could see the look of concentration on her face as she tried to translate her answer to Tristainian. "Morning." She nodded, satisfied. "Morning good."

"You reversed the order." I grumbled. "Good morning." Her confused face stared at me through the mirror. "Good morning."

"Good morning?" She repeated.

"Yes, good morning."

It wasn't long until I learned her true motive for awakening me, when her stomach suddenly rumbled loud enough to surprise me. The little glutton had the grace to look embarrassed. Honestly, I didn't mind too much if she went to get breakfast without me, as long as she was presentable when she did so.

It was a little hard to explain that though, so we came downstairs together after I took my turn to brush and dress her for the day. The banquet hall was mostly empty, except for the servants setting the tables and a few early risers among the students. This morning we were served a simple porridge with some honey in the centre of the table to share between us. Raphtalia managed to use half the dish of honey between her three bowls of porridge. Was she starving before she met me? If I didn't restrain her diets soon, she'd start to get fat.

With no classes today, and no real reason to waste time before our excursion to the capitol, I led Raphtalia straight to the stables to ready our carriage. I informed the stable master of my intention, and he immediately prepared a carriage and driver for us. That wouldn't take long, but while I was waiting, I noticed Raphtalia staring at the horses being bridled somewhat intensely.

"Is something wrong?" I asked her.

Her brows came together, before she pointed and said, "What?"

I followed her finger, but all I could see was the stablehand doing his work and the animals. "Raphtalia?" Stepping around behind her so I could see directly what she pointed at, all I could see were the horses. "Do you mean those?"

Those large eyes stared at me in a familiar, puzzled way.

An image sprang to mind that I suddenly wanted to make reality. "Are they good humored?" I asked the stablehand, a small smile tugging at my lips.

"Aye, they're mild mannered, Milady." The stablehand answered.

"Is it alright if she pets one?"

I could see he didn't want to refuse a member of the nobility, but at the same time was worried about getting in trouble if harm came to me. He sucked on his lip for a moment before asking, "Are you familiar with horses, Milady?"

"Yes, we have stables at my father's estate."

The man nodded, reassured. "Just don't do anything a horse wouldn't normally like, then."

Still smiling, I looked back down to Raphtalia. "Come on, then." I grabbed her hand and approached one of the horses that was still in its stable. It was a mahogany brown gelding, and I was careful to move us towards it slowly from an angle so that it could clearly see us approach. I could feel the nervous tension in her hand, but she followed my example when I took an old half a carrot from the bucket and placed it flat in the palm of her hand so her fingers wouldn't be bit. "His eyes are on the side of his head, so he can't really see where your hand is. He'll bite you if your not careful, and won't know he did it until you yell." I knew she couldn't understand exactly what I meant, but my soft voice seemed to reassure her.

The gelding sniffled a little as her hand got closer to its mouth, before it's lips found the treat in Raphtalia's palm, and gobbled it up in an instant. My familiar let out a small meep, but didn't frighten too much. While the horse was happily crunching down its snack, I took Raphtalia's hand and helped her slowly stroke the side of the creatures head.

She was utterly transfixed for a few precious moments, before she looked at me, eyes wide. "What?"

"Horse." I smiled at her. "It's called a horse, Raphtalia. Horse."

"Horse." Her lips turned up at the edges, before she went back to stroking the creature. "Good morning, horse."

"Milady!" A voice over my shoulder made me turn, and I saw our carriage was now prepared. "When did you intend to be back, by?"

"This evening, unless we face delay." I looked back to Raphtalia. "Come on, then."

She looked back up at me, then frowned, thinking of what to say. "Horse..." Then she pinched her nose and made a sour face.

It took me a moment to figure out what she meant. "Smelly. Horses are smelly."

"Smelly." She nodded solemnly, committing it to memory. Taking my proffered hand, she followed me until we came into sight of the carriage and suddenly froze.

"Is something wrong?"

She hesitated, before giving out a long slow sigh, and reluctantly following me up into the cabin, her small lips set in a grim line.

* * *

**AN: The story is slower paced than I expected it to be. I keep intending to move over the dull parts, but then I think of things for the character to do that seem a touch too interesting.**

**I can imagine Raphtalia being used to a morning routine that involves taking care of Filo, so waking up Louise would be natural for her.**

**Please alert me to any mistakes I've made.**


	14. Chapter 14

Let this day serve as a lesson to me. The rule of steel, is always right. I was too soft on Raphtalia. I allowed her to overindulge at breakfast, and now we both must bear the consequences. Not even twenty minutes into our journey to the capital, my familiar shot up from her seat, shoved her head out the window, and wasted a good deal of food.

I couldn't help but wince in sympathy, even as I covered my nose. There really wasn't much for me to do, other than hold her hair back and wipe her mouth with a handkerchief when she was done. I briefly considered keeping the handkerchief for cleaning and later use, but then thought of it stinking up the rest of the trip to the capital. In the end I threw it out the window.

That proved to be a mistake too. Only an hour later, Raphtalia was heaving out the window again, but with nothing left in her stomach, she only managed to drool bile down the front of her chin, and I no longer had anything to wipe it off with. In the end we stopped two more times to clean Raphtalia's face with the driver's waterskin before we arrived at the capitol.

Normally I would have ridden the carriage further into the city to cut down on time walking, but for her sake it seemed best to exit at the gate. She was so happy to be out that she would have kissed the earth if I had let her.

Tristania was always a busy place, though it was small compared to a city like Londinium, or Lutece. Its small size did come with some advantages, specifically that a lot of the roads were made of cobblestone rather than trodden mud, and in the merchant parts of town people made sure to keep their filth from the streets. That wasn't to say the place didn't smell poorly compared to outside its walls, but in opposition to some of the other places I had traveled it was quite bearable. Elearnore had horror stories to tell about Lutece and its slums.

Some part of me was vaguely disappointed by the lack of exuberance from Raphtalia as we walked the streets. This must not have been her first time to a city, as she merely looked curiously about while keeping just a few paces behind me. The houses of the merchant district were sturdy things of brick, often two story structures with tiled roofing and well ordered shop fronts. Normally a member of a house as great as mine wouldn't stop here, instead calling a professional tailor to visit us at the estate, but on short notice it would do for Raphtalia's needs.

The tailor I chose displayed a number of maid and serving uniforms in its windows, and I suspected it to be wear my academy uniform originally came from, though I'd never been here before. As we stepped inside a bell rang, alerting the shopkeep to our entrance.

"Milady, it's an honor to have you inside my store." The woman behind the counter curtsied as I entered. Maybe she did actually know who I was from my pink hair and academy uniform, but I cared little either way.

"I need three, simple, easy to work in servant's uniforms for Raphtalia, here." I stepped to the right and pushed my familiar forward so the lady behind the counter could see. "And I need them delivered to the academy before the start of the week."

The store keeper cast an eye over Raphtalia, lingering on her ears curiously, before nodding quickly. "Of course, milady. I can have them delivered tomorrow afternoon. I'll just need to take her measurements."

I directed Raphtalia to stand in front of the mirror, while the store owner disappeared out back to find a few rulers for measurement.

"Um…" Raphtalia looked at me in the mirror.

"What is it?" I asked her.

She thought carefully about what she wanted to say, before holding her hand parallel to the top of her head. Then she raised that hand up to around my height.

My mind worked for a moment, before I held the hand above my height. "Tall. This is taller. Tall." Then I brought it down to her height. "Short. This is shorter. Short."

Nodding in understanding, she raised one arm above her self. "Raphtalia tall."

...I couldn't help but smile at the way she was standing on her tiptoes. "No, I'm quite sure that you're short." Placing my palm on top of her head, I pressed down so she was standing at her normal height again. "See?"

She gave a frustrated huff. "_I don't want you to waste gold. Once I'm level twenty, nothing from here will fit me."_

"I'm sure you'll grow taller with time." Or at least that's what I told myself when I thought of all six feet of my mother, or Elleanore who was almost as tall as father. I was just a late bloomer, mother said she had been the same at my age. Yes, by the time I reached my full height, I would be able to look down on _Kirche_, who was the tallest in our year. I was sure of it, though it would be nice if that growth spurt hurried up already.

Raphtalia didn't seem reassured, though that was probably because of the language barrier. Her pouting face in the mirror was cute too.

The store owner returned and began to take measurements, but stopped when it came to Raphtalia's tail, shooting me an uncertain glance in the mirror before continuing.

That reminded me, actually. Raphtalia's appendage had proven incompatible with the skirt that was part of the academy uniform. When she was wearing around her hips, her tail had to be pointed pointed to the floor or she would raise it indecently. The skirt itself was already practically short enough to be immodest, and that problem was only exacerbated whenever Raphtalia's tail twitched or went up instinctively.

"Be sure to include a hole for her tail." I told the storekeeper, who hesitated before giving a nod of understanding.

We left the store soon after that, and I took Raphtalia to the alchemical supply. Not because I particularly needed anything but because I wanted her to know where it was for when she was ready to run errands for me.

After that, there wasn't much left that I intended to do in the capital. I hesitated to head home right away, if only because of how long and uncomfortable the trip to come here was. It would be a good idea to get lunch, but in light of Raphtalia's motion sickness I hesitated. Internally I debated whether it was a good idea to feed her or not, but decided to just give her a few hours to digest before we headed out. Lunch came from a good inn, and this time I was careful to stop Raphtalia after just one plate of chicken stew, though she looked quite unsatisfied.

"Well, is there anything you can think of to do?" I asked her.

She looked up at me unsure.

"Where?" I tried, and pointed at a few different stores. "Where would you like to go?"

After leading me down the street for a while, she indicated one store that caught her gaze. I rolled my eyes when I saw the sign, and then thought of entering it. No, it would not do for me to be seen there.

"Well, if you want it, you can go in, but I'll wait here." I took out my purse and handed her some coin.

A little while later she emerged with two spring mouse traps, looking quite pleased with herself as she handed the change to me. Counting it quickly, I thought she did a fair job negotiating the price despite not speaking Tristanian.

The only other store that seemed to catch her interest was a blacksmith.

* * *

**AN: How do we feel about derfflinger? In some ways I'm hesitant to include him, as in the show I found him to be used far too often for exposition purposes, in addition to which Raphtalia has the hammer which strikes me as a more useful weapon for her. If anyone has any advice or arguments in favor of the talking sword, I'm interested to hear it.**

**Also, there will probably be no new chapter tomorrow.**

**Last chapter, a reader helpfully pointed out that yes, horses were a thing in Melomarc. So I've gone back and deleted the AN when I suggested they were not, but otherwise the scene remains completely unchanged. Children like animals, and the language barrier keeps Raphtalia from explicitly stating her reason to be excited about the horse, so the reader can simply infer that however they please.**

**Please let me know about any errors I've made.**


	15. Chapter 15

The blacksmith was quite surprised when we entered his store. Indeed, it was probably the first time someone from the Tristain Academy of Magic had ever stepped through his door. Which was why it might be understandable that his greeting to us was less than polite.

"Huh? What are you doing here, milady?" He said over his shoulder as he arranged a number of tools on a shelf

"I beg your pardon?" I drew myself up, projecting the authority of my birthright in the tone of my voice. "Is that the normal way to greet your betters?

"U-uh, sorry milady." He almost dropped the box in his hands as he turned to face me. "I just uh, don't see-"

"My familiar is here to browse." I cut him off and ushered Raphtalia into the room. "I'll pay for anything she damages, of course."

"R-right, yes." He stared at Raphtalia curiously, until he noticed the ears on top of her head and startled back a step. "I-is that an elf?"

"No." I gave him an annoyed look. "Elves have pointed ears, not round furry ones."

"Ah, I see milady." He nodded jerkily. "Of course"

"Go on." I gave Raphtalia a little push on the small of her back, and she wondered to the back of the store where a number of weapons were on display.

"I-I can do a custom order, milady."

"That won't be necessary." Raphtalia already had a number of enchanted weapons, I personally doubted she'd desire anything this man had to sell. But if she wanted to browse I was happy to let her do so.

"Louise!" Raphtalia called out to me, tail twitching with excitement. She was standing on her tiptoes, peeking inside a barrel with a number of sword hilts sticking out. They all struck me as too large for her, but from among them she lifted one out in her hands and presented it towards me, though she was clearly struggling with its weight.

I was hardly an expert on blades, but it seemed unusual in its design to me. It was long and heavy, with one edge and a curved tip.

"What have you found there?" I asked her as I approached.

She simply thrust it into my hands, jabbering excitedly in her language. "_It's a talking sword, Miss Louise. I've never seen one before."_

"Yes, it's a little odd." I held it awkwardly, seeing nothing particularly special about it.

"Who you calling odd?" A voice came from the sword itself, a small flap of metal at the base of its blade flapping up and down unnaturally. "Or did'ja mean to say I was little?"

I blinked slowly, holding the weapon askance while Louise's eyes shone with excitement. "Is this sword talking?"

"Yes, milady." The blacksmith sighed. "Don't worry, the novelty of it won't last."

"You hear that? No respect." The sword grumbled. "Aint'cha supposed to respect your elders?"

"Did you forge this?" I asked the blacksmith incredulously.

"No, an adventurer sold it to me years ago. Now I can't get rid of the damn thing."

"Why not?" I looked back down at the sword. "This is incredible. Even a basic magical blade can be very valuable, let alone this."

"Well, it turns out most people don't want a sword that talks, milady. But he's enchanted as you say, so I can never bring myself to just throw him away. All he does all day is lay about the shop and make noise."

"Anyone would want me!" The sword interrupted. "Anyone with common sense, that is. I could get myself sold any day I wanted to, I just don't want a wielder who ain't worthy."

"He annoys anyone he doesn't like until they sell him back to me." The blacksmith groaned, rubbing his face. "I'm sick of giving refunds."

From the brief interaction I had with the sword, I could see how that could be true. "Do you have a name?"

"Derflinger, lady. Yours?"

"I'm Louise Françoise le Blanc de la Vallière. Pleased to meet you." And it never hurt to be polite.

"And who's the little demi-human? I ain't seen one of those in a while."

"'Demi-human'?" I repeated, looking back down at Raphtalia, whose excitement seemed to fade once she realises she couldn't follow the conversation. "Do you mean Raphtalia?"

"If that's her name, that's her name." Derflinger continued. "I can't even remember when I saw one of those last."

"You know what she is?"

"Yeah, you don't?"

"No, actually. No one at the academy does either."

"Wow, it's been a lot longer than I thought it had, then." Derflinger sounded amused. "You gonna let her hunt, then?"

"Hunt?" My eyebrows came together. "What do you mean?"

"Oh, you don't know about that!" He exclaimed. "It's been so long, I'm trying to remember the details…" The metal part raised up and down slowly as he thought it over. "Right, right it's coming back to me. Demi-humans grow stronger from killing..."

"…" I must have heard that wrong. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah, yeah or something like that anyway. They're like killing machines, I tell ya."

Blinking slowly, I looked down to Raphtalia who stared up at me with her large concerned eyes. She reached out and put a hand on my skirt, murmuring. "_Is something wrong?"_

"...You're memory may be worse than you realised."

"Yeah, maybe. I am more than a thousand years old, so that could happen." He chuckled. "Anyway, I don't think I want you to wield me, and you don't seem like someone who much needs a sword either."

"No, we already have one." Thinking about it, it seemed like money I didn't particularly need to spend, and not to mention not especially useful as a source of information either. Raphtalia drawing power from death? Honestly, it was ridiculous as a concept. "I'm sorry to say, but I don't think I have much use for you."

"That's fine. Just toss me back in the bucket, and I'll wait for the right guy to come."

I returned him to where he asked, and thanked the blacksmith for his time, before turning to my familiar. "Come along Raphtalia, unless you've found something you want."

With the mousetrap tucked under her arm, we wandered through the city for an hour to enjoy the sights, before we headed to the front gates where the carriage was waiting for us. Raphtalia was hesitant enough to board, but it was the only way for us to return to the academy in a timely manner.

The journey made Raphtalia as violently ill in the afternoon as it did in the morning. It wasn't as bad this time as she hadn't only just eaten, but it still was quite unpleasant. Maybe it would be better if taught her to ride a horse in the future, Cattleya often found that easier on her stomach than a carriage, though it was greater strain on her body. As we journeyed, Raphtalia tucked her head into one corner of the carriage and tried not to see the passing scenery, looking small and miserable as she did.

A killing machine? I chuckled at the idea. Even that spell she cast on me was merely incapacitating.

"How soon until we're there?" I called to the driver.

"Shouldn't be long." He called back. "A bit more than an hour I'd wager. Normally I'd take us a little faster, but I think I can slow down for the little one."

"Yes, that seems to be for the best." I agreed.

"Normally you'd see a few goblins hiding in the trees of the woods, though they don't usually attack humans." Apparently after I engaged him in conversation, he took that as an invitation to chatter. I didn't mind too much, though it was definitely forward for a peasant to be speaking to a noble like that.

"Why not?"

"Oh, cause they get hunted if they hurt people. Any tribe will stay clear of humans if they want to live long." He scratched the back of his head. "Apparently the tribe in the woods around got wiped out recently, though."

Something about that tickled my memory. "Wiped out?"

"Yeah, I talked to Manny the ranger about it when he came to sell some wild hens this morning. Whole tribe, from the smallest one all the way to their chief got slain by something real thorough. It even tracked down the survivors that tried to flee."

My eyes slowly returned to Raphtalia, the words from Tabitha yesterday rang through my mind. _This smell. Goblin blood. _

"No." I said aloud, shaking my head. "It couldn't be." Calling out to the coachman again, I asked him. "When did you say this was?"

"Yesterday, according to Manny anyway. He thought it would have been in the morning."

That meant it would have happened during the hours of morning class, after Raphtalia snuck into Professor Colbert's office and retrieved her dagger...

_Killing machine._ Derflinger's words rang through my mind.

Raphtalia noticed the way I was looking at her, and slowly raised her head to stare at me. "What?"

But she was a child! It was completely ridiculous to believe she could handle even one goblin, let alone a tribe. I tried to picture it in my mind, and found myself unable to imagine it. Raphtalia was small, and occasionally looked a little sad for her age, but behaved more or less like a normal child as far as I could tell.

"Louise?" Raphtalia gingerly stood up and hopped into the seat next to mine. Reaching across, she put her hand on my stomach. "Sick?"

"No, I'm fine." I shook my head, before reaching out to stroke hers. "I was just being silly, don't worry about it."

Yes. I was certain.

What would an old sword know, anyway?

* * *

**AN: This isn't me getting rid of Derflinger, I just didn't want the exposition sword to do too much expositing yet. It will be a while before Louise is a true believer, but in the meantime it's not like he'll be sold in a hurry.**

**Thank you for all the advice I received after yesterday, it was helpful in deciding what I wanted to do.**


	16. Chapter 16

At first when I woke up, I was excited about the day to come. The new wire traps Louise had lent me money for looked promising, but there was still no sign of that damn mouse. When I peeked into the hole, the bait was still there and the string was still taut, so I guess it just wasn't hungry tonight. Maybe I should try another kind of bait? I thought to check the trap in Kirche's room, but didn't want to wake in case she wanted to sleep in.

With that handled, I set about waking Louise up. She grumbled a bit out of grogginess more than irritation. Mostly it reminded me of dealing with Filo in the mornings. She looked almost as childish too.

With her hair brushed, and wearing the uniform of the castle, Louise finally looked ready to face the day. I still wasn't sure of the schedule of this place, but I could only hope that she and the other teenagers would disappear again so I'd get the chance to grind some more levels. Sadly, that wasn't to be.

Just as I was reaching for my second helping that morning, Louise gently grabbed my hand. "No. _You're becoming a glutton."_

Whatever she said, I was kept from any more food than what I'd already received. I sat there, unsatisfied and still peckish as she finished her meal at a leisurely pace, while occasionally murmuring what I assumed were reasurances at me. Easy for her to say, she wasn't the one planning to growing a full foot over just a few weeks.

She was a human though, maybe she didn't understand the way demihumans worked. She had to know I was out getting XP while she was occupied, though. The notifications would have popped up regardless of our distance from each other.

After breakfast, she led me into the courtyard of the castle, over to a part of the ground that was patchy and torn. In a few places there were faint patches of partially burnt grass.

"_It's well past time that I should have some idea of what you're capable of." _

I got the idea of what Louise meant to say when she drew a wand and pointed it at patch of earth in the distance. My interest grew as Louise took a breath and started to chant something, before stopping herself. She looked towards me, before ushering me away a step with her hand and starting again.

The chant was unfamiliar to me, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up as the air seemed to change in response to her command. In the last fraction of a second before she cast the spell, she turned her head almost like she was wincing in preparation for whatever the result would be.

With an ear splitting roar, a bright flash of brilliant white exploded in the distance, singing the grass and making my ears ring.

Breathing out a sigh for some reason, Louise turned to face me. "_That was a_ magic spell. Magic. _It was supposed to be a simple orb of illumination, but you don't really need to know that._" She coughed. "_At any rate, _Magic."

"Magic." I repeated, nodding. I'd never seen a light spell quite like that before. I guess it was intended to blind and stun people. Maybe I could do something similar with a little practice, though I'm not sure how she managed to make a sound like that.

She crooked her finger to get me to come closer, before getting me stand where she was and pointing at an exposed rock in the distance. "_Now you show me what you can do. _Raphtalia's magic."

Oh, she was trying to teach me that spell? That was quite generous of her. "I'll try." I promised, before murmuring my chant. In my mind, I was working off a simple orb of illumination, but trying to increase its intensity at the cost of its duration. It seemed like a reasonable exchange to me.

When I cast the spell, it wasn't nearly as impressive as Louise's had been. Her spell had gone off so fast I hadn't even seen the magic move before the effect took place. The best I could manage was a fast projectile that whizzed with the speed of an arrow before flashing brightly and disappearing. If iwas back in my adult form and had more MP, I was sure I could do it better, but as I was now that used almost a third of what I had.

When I looked to Louise for approval, I found a look of frustration on her face. "_The chant was different, but that was an acceptable orb of illumination."_

I must have got it wrong. "I'm sorry."

"_How about you show me that lightning spell you used on me earlier?" _She looked down to me again. At my confused look, she thought about it before bending down to scratch a little picture of a lightning bolt and a cloud in the dirt. "_Lightning. Um, you know… bzzt." _

Was this some kind of exercise? Or could this actually be how she created that effect? Rather than modifying an orb of illumination, that stunning blast she cast was a bit more like the image of a bolt of lightning. After a few moments concentration, I held out both my hands and began to chant again.

Again, I couldn't get the sound effect right, but with Louise's help I was able to produce something that took the shape of lightning. Light magic was a little different from other kinds of magic, in that it was harder to work with when there was more light around. It interfered with the properties of the spell, so in order to get the shape of lightning I used a jagged black line of shadow magic. The end result wasn't the same as Louise's spell, but it did leave a sun spot in my eyes for a moment afterwards even in broad daylight.

"_Ahah!"_ Louise clapped jubilantly. "_I was right, triangle class wind _magic_. Excellent."_

I smiled at her, glad she was pleased. With just a little more practice I could make that spell as effective as hers was. I could only imagine how damaging it would be to cast in a dungeon, or an enclosed space at night.

It would have been nice to start practicing right then, but I was almost out of MP. Speaking of which, Louise's status bar had somehow grown even more bizarre.

LOUISE FRANÇOISE LE BLANC DE LA VALLIÈRE

LVL: 3

HP: 31/31

MP: -1000001/3

When I pushed on the help menu, it simply gave the usual explanation of MP being used to power spells. What on earth was going with Louise's HUD?

After that I spent my time up until lunch with Louse. She took me into the main building, and borrowed a small chalkboard from a middle aged looking woman. Then she took me to one of the classrooms and started sketching out small pictures of things like chairs or animals and giving me the name for it in Tristainian. It was helpful, though boring, and eventually I found my interest waning.

"_Pay attention, please." _Louise poked me in the nose, and smiled when I rubbed it. "_Although we're almost out of chalk, anyway." _She rubbed the little nub that was all that remained of the stick between her fingers. "_I think I have some more left over for practicing the summoning in my room somewhere."_

My stomach suddenly growled loudly enough that my cheeks heated up.

"_You're going to have to learn some self control, Raphtalia."_ She sounded stern, though I wasn't sure what I'd done wrong. Her face softened when my ears folded down. "_One more hour, then we'll get some lunch."_

The journey back up the tower to her room was getting familiar, though she had me carry the chalkboard there. As we were walking down the hall, the door to Kirche's room swung open, and she stepped out yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eye.

"Good morning!" I waved to her, and she smiled at me.

"_Is it that early?" _She stretched lazily, raising both arms over her head.

"_It's afternoon." _Louise sniffed. "_Really Kirche, I know it's the weekend but there's a reasonable limit to these things."_

With Kirche awake I could check the trap in her room. First I had to help Louise find whatever it was she was searching for in her room. We went through each of her draws, before I spotted what looked like a small leather pouch that had fallen down behind her dresser. My small arms were able to reach back there and I loosley pinched it between my index and middle finger.

When I showed it to Louise, she smiled and patted my head. "Good _work, _Raphtalia_."_

Opening the satchel, she took out another stick of chalk. "_Now then-"_

She was interrupted by aI sound I hadn't heard in years rang through the room, as the chalk in Louise's hand disappeared, absorbed by her skin after dissolving into black particles of light. That was the sound Naofumi's shield had made whenever he fed components to it.

We both stood there in stunned silence for a long moment, staring at her empty hand.

* * *

**AN: Missed the update yesterday. Sorry about that, but we now continue with our regular schedule. Daily updates will continue for the foreseeable future.**


	17. Chapter 17

There was chalk in my hand, just a moment earlier. I stared at my empty hand, certain that I had just seen that chalk dissolve into black particles and disappear into my skin. There wasn't even a trace of white dust on my skin when I rubbed my fingers together. In my other hand was a satchel with other pieces of chalk, and in front of me my familiar stared at me with great interest.

There was… probably just something wrong with that piece. Or at least that's the first thing I thought to myself. It had been the chalk I'd practiced a number of magic rituals with, so it was pretty likely it had just absorbed some of my magic and been destroyed. My magic tended to do that to things. Though, it was new for it to be destroyed days after the fact…

From the leather satchel I withdrew another stick of chalk, and immediately I felt it start to dissolve again. That would be the best way to describe it, really. I could feel the magic power that I had always had within me reach out and seize what was in my hand. After about half the stick vanished, the effect stopped and words sprang up into my vision.

FAMILIAR MAGIC I UNLOCKED.

Apparently it improved stat growth for familiars? Like all the other times this illusion moved text in front of my face, this one dispelled when I waved a hand vaguely at it.

Suddenly, Raphtalia stood and went over to her bag, from which she retrieved a length of old rope. Then slowly she approached me, holding out the rope in front of her like an offering.

"What?" I asked her.

In answer she nudged me with the rope.

With an odd sense of trepidation, I reached out and held the bottom of it. Immediately, the end of the rope began to blacken and wither, almost like a lit fuse. The ashlike parts of it disappeared into my skin just like the chalk had, until suddenly it stopped. Again, text popped into my vision.

AIR VORTEX MAGIC UNLOCKED.

Just below, it added that it would draw all the air in a small area to a point of my choosing, if I concentrated and said the words 'air vortex' in Albionese. That sounded almost like a spell… Swallowing again, I raised my right hand and thought of all the air being moved to a point at my palm. With my left hand I covered my eyes, worried about how this might go wrong.

Moistening my lips before speaking, I carefully enunciated, "Air vortex."

The papers on my desk whipped in the wind and the hair on my head waved about, as a point of pressure was made just in the palm of my hand. I could feel it tugging at my skin, though with not much force, as it drew all the air into the place I'd imagined. After just a few seconds it stopped, and all my scattered notes drifted back to the floor.

All I could do was stand there dimly, thinking of only one thing: Did I just cast a completely successful spell?

Then another thought came to me, as I collapsed into my desk chair and noticed my wand sitting on the surface behind me.

"Did I just cast that without a wand?"

Raphtalia stared at me for a long moment, before a bright smile came over her face and she ran up to me. "_I know a lot of different components, we can get started right away!" _Without waiting for anything else, she grabbed the brush we shared and untangled a knot of both our hair from it before placing that in the palm of my hand. The brown strands began to dissolve right away, but no new notification had popped up by the time she was done.

"_I needed a new haircut anyway." _She jabbered before taking out her dagger and began trimming the ends of her hair in the mirror.

"What is this?" I murmured dully as I stared at her back. That spell she cast on me was now teaching me magic, which was utterly boggling in its own right, but it was doing so with greater success than all the staff of the academy, my parents, and my sisters had combined!

A giggle escaped me, despite myself. As the shock and absurdity of it wore off, the realisation that I had in fact really cast my first ever fully successful spell coursed through me. No side effects, no collateral damage. The spell had the exact intended effect.

All I could do was sit there and bask in the glow, before I turned to my familiar. "Raphtalia, what are you?"

"Hair!" She presented a handful of clippings to me and poured them into my cupped hands.

They disappeared too, and a new set of words popped into my vision.

FAMILIAR MAGIC II UNLOCKED.

Even greater stat growth for my familiar. What was 'stat growth' anyway?

"_You should come hunting with me tomorrow, we could find all kinds of materials together."_

"...I need to tell my mother about this." I breathed out, my heart started to flutter with excitement again. "Oh, she'll be so proud of me! And worried! Wandless magic?!" Another long laugh escaped me, and I immediately turned to my desk to start drafting something. My mind was so abuzz, I wasn't even sure what I wrote. It didn't matter, I could just treat it as bullet points later anyway.

While I was working on that, there was a knock on my door. "Raphtalia, could you get that?"

At first she'd been excited by my spell too, but after I sat down at my desk her enthusiasm had disappeared quite suddenly.

"Good morning." Raphtalia greeted as she opened the door.

"I believe it's afternoon, milady." Greeted her with a curtsy before turning to me. I vaguely recognised her from around the castle, for her exoticly dark hair and dark eyes, though I hardly remembered her name. "Miss Louise, a delivery has arrived for you from the capital."

Those would be the dresses I ordered for Raphtalia. "Good, bring it all here please."

"Yes, Miss Louise."

A little while later she returned carrying a pile of folded clothes, though I hardly paid attention. It was proving difficult to get what I wanted into the letter without sounding boastful _or _hysterical, a problem I'd never had with writing before. Part of the problem was I didn't know whether I was happier than I was scared.

"Anything else, Miss Louise?"

"Y-yes. Help Raphtalia change into one of the new outfits, and then have the clothes she's been wearing cleaned and returned to Tabitha, please."

"Right away, Miss Louise."

The door swung shut behind me as the maid left, and I felt a tugging on one of my sleeves as I turned to see Raphtalia in her new outfit. It was a normal pale blue servant uniform, though it looked quite Voluminous on her small frame.

She looked up at me, then back down at the hem of her dress that hid her feet from view, clearly upset about something. "_I can't move in this."_

"Don't worry, you look very sharp." I reassured her, though I wasn't being entirely honest. "You'll look just fine for the Familiar exhibition in three weeks."

"Too much!" She held up her hands so the sleeves slid down to her wrist.

Ah. It looked like the tailor had included a little extra for her to grow into, though I was worried about her climbing down the stairs without tripping over.

"Well, it's a good thing you don't have anything that requires a lot of running about planned."

* * *

**AN: I hope people have noticed the steady progress in Raohtalia's use of Tristainian. It would have been so much easier to just have the silence spell accidentally become a translation spell, but just cause canon takes the easy road, doesn't mean I should. I think it helps give this story its own flavour a little, so I'm glad I kept it.**

**Please let me know about any errors you find.**


	18. Chapter 18

For some reason Louise did not want to accompany me when I went hunting that morning. Over breakfast I tried to explain what we would be doing together, but with the language barrier all I could do was try and mime it out. All I got for my troubles were peels of laughter from Kirche, which immediately caused the two of them to start bickering.

Even without her I was quite satisfied with my progress. Ranging in the opposite direction to the one I'd traveled last time, I found a giant snake hanging around near a stone fence. On the other side of the fence I could see cows grazing blissfully, so I can only assume I did the farmer a favor when I killed the monster and took its fangs for Louise. It was worth a good amount of XP too, enough to put me over to level four.

On the other side of the fields I came to a much hillier patch of land, and nestled in steep valley I found a den of wargs which immediately made me nervous. Larger and more aggressive than mere wolves, they retained the sense of smell and hearing which made sneaking up on them difficult even with invisibility.

That same sense of smell could be used against them, though. When I came close enough to the den that they should be able to sense me, I simply waited for one of the beasts to snuffle along the trail towards me before cutting its throat when it came into range. Its friends immediately rounded on me, but the flash spell Louise had taught me proved its value when it blinded the pack long enough for me to slay another. At that point things became a lot more difficult, as I found myself surrounded by the surviving wargs on three sides and desperately avoiding their lunging attempts to knock me over and pin me beneath them. With my current size and strength, being immobilised would immediately prove lethal.

Oh, this was why I shouldn't have been doing this alone. Whenever I got close to one, it would dance back from me agiley while one if its friends circled around behind me to launch an attack of its own. The fight proved exhausting to my MP and body, as I had to resort to resort to more spells to stun and confuse the wargs before I could finally close in enough to stick my dagger into the back of its neck.

The last beast ran away when it saw that it was alone, and I made sure it was out of sight before collapsing in an exhausted heap. I took a while to eat some of my rations from Melomarc and drink water, before going about the business of collecting materials for Louise. After that I was ready to call it a day. It was only as I was coming through the gate that I realised I was covered in drying mud and offal. I couldn't help but feel guilty, Louise had only just got me these even if I was going to outgrow them soon. The least I could do was take care of it.

Louise was still busy with whatever it was she and the others did during the day, so I had plenty of time to bathe and change into one of the other sets of clothes I had. When I came down to the servants quarters to deliver my soiled outfit to them, I smelled something delicious in the air. This must have been where they cooked the food for our meals…

My stomach growled loudly, drawing the gaze of a distinctive looking maid. I hadn't really spoken to her before, but I remembered her because she had features that reminded me of Naofumi and the other heroes. They all had dark hair and irises, as well as a different shape to their nose and eyes.

"Good morning." I greeted her and waved with one hand.

She hesitated, before smiling back at me. "Good _afternoon."_

'_Good afternoon.' _I committed that phrase to memory, in part because I believe it was the polite way to respond when someone said hello to you in Tristanian, though the exact definition of those words escaped me.

"Clean?" I held out the soiled outfit to her.

"_I could add that to the laundry for you." _She relieved them from me, before taking a long look at the outfit I was wearing. "_Um, if you're going to be Miss Louise's servant from now on, perhaps you'd like to learn some of these things for yourself?" _With her free hand she held open the door behind her, apparently inviting me inside.

As the smells from the food cooking inside spilled out, I realised what she was offering. "Breakfast?" I asked hopefully.

"_Well, it's a little late in the day for that, but I'm sure I can fix something up for you before lunch." _At my confused look, she changed her longer answer by nodding at me. "Yes, Breakfast."

With a smile and a, "Thank you." I followed her inside.

The roof in here was much lower than the rest of the castle's, with the hallways being narrower too. It was also a touch dimmer, without as many windows or braziers as the rest of the estate. Through a somewhat maze like series off halls and doors, she brought me to the other side of the building and back into the sunlight where I saw a dozen servants washing clothes in stone tubs before hanging them out to dry on a line stringed between two wooden posts. It was a large operation, with many baskets of dirty clothes lined up and waiting to be cleaned.

The maid showed me where to leave my clothes if I needed them cleaned in the future. Then she took me back inside to a lunchroom that would have been large, but was made cozy by a table that could have seated as many as twenty people, but was currently empty. Siesta pulled out one chair for me, before bringing to me a plain wooden bowl of stew and buttered bread.

"Thank you!" I said to her before digging in.

"_You're very welcome." _She smiled at me, before reaching out and ruffling my hair. "_What were you doing today to get your clothes in such a state, I wonder?"_

Oh right, I was being rude. Swallowing the food I had in my mouth and checking to make sure I had nothing on my lips, I looked to her and introduced myself. "I'm Raphtalia."

She giggled at that, before returning my smile. "_It's nice to meet you, Raphtalia. _I'm Siesta."

"See-es-tar?" I repeated.

"That's right." She gave me a thumb up. "_Good job."_

"Good job." I repeated after her and copied the action.

That made her laugh again, and I felt my cheeks warm up. Had I done something embarrassing? After I finished my bowl, she led me outside and waved at me cheerily before returning to her duties.

I spent the rest of the time until Louise finished her business playing with Flame. The Wind Dragon joined in after a while, and I found myself having to think of more creative games to play than just fetch. By the time lunch came around, I was teaching the two of them to sit using dried meats I'd gotten from my backpack.

Louise rushed towards me, rudely pushing her way through the crowd of other students to stand before me. For some reason she checked my sleeves and hands, before letting out a sigh and murmuring to herself. "'_Killing machine?' What on earth could I have been thinking? Someday you're going to have to explain to me what XP is."_

She must have been worried I would hurt myself during my hunt, or made a mess of my clothes. I had done exactly that, but by the time my garments had passed through the hands of the castle servants and been returned to our room, Louise would never notice the difference. I felt a little guilty about that. It was almost like I was hiding evidence, but it would have been hard to explain to her anyway without speaking much Tristainian.

Lunch was served in the dining hall. Between it and what Siesta had served me, I actually felt somewhat satisfied. I think visiting her in the servants quarters was going to become a regular part of my routine if Louise continued to insist on only one plate at meal time.

* * *

**AN: And that's how Raphtalia will become involved with Siesta's subplot. Simple, I think, but it fits and doesn't seem especially contrived to me.**

**There's also been some confusion regarding Raphtalia's level. For the record, after today's adventure she is now level 4, getting close to 5. In the earlier chapter where I said Louise had received a dozen similar notification I meant she was getting XP, not levels.**

**Please let me know about any mistakes I've made.**


	19. Chapter 19

It was the middle of my morning classes when more messages startled me with their sudden appearance. Once again I'd 'leveled up' and received 'XP'. Immediately I thought of when this last happened, and thought of timing of the strangely coincidental goblin massacre. At first I thought it seemed stupid to imagine her killing anything, but then I remembered the lightning she was able to summon in the courtyard, and I felt a cold sweat form on the back of my neck.

Somehow, before class ended I'd half convinced myself Raphtalia was out there terrorizing some poor farmers. In my head, bolts of electricity were striking down some farmer's calves, lambs, or -Brimir forbid- a peasant as he wandered about unaware of the danger.

When we were let go for the morning, I rushed out to find her, ignoring the complaints of the other students even when I accidentally almost knocked Tabitha over. I might have to apologise to her later, but right then I was almost panicking at what my familiar might be up to.

To my relief, I found her in the courtyard, innocently feeding treats to Tabitha and Kirche's familiars. Quickly I rushed over to her, and checked for any bloodstains like from I found none, I felt almost as relieved as I did silly. "'Killing machine?' What on earth could I have been thinking? Someday you're going to have to explain to me what XP is."

That's what I get for listening to a senile old sword at any rate. Raphtalia, gracious little creature that she was, reached up and put her hand on my shoulder. In a small voice she murmured to me, "Good morning."

"It's afternoon." I couldn't help but smile even as I corrected her.

After that we had a small lunch, and I was pleased when Raphtalia didn't go for seconds. It was good that she was learning. I had a small while before afternoon classes began, so I decided to use it to teach Raphtalia some more Tristanian.

On the way up the stairs I saw Tabitha, and remembering my rudeness from earlier and decided to approach her. She was walking while reading, probably heading in the direction of her dragon.

"Hello, Tabitha." I greeted.

"Good morning!" Raphtalia called out cheerily as well.

"Need something?" Honestly, the girl could be quite rude in her own right. She didn't even bother looking up.

"I just wanted to say sorry for pushing past you earlier."

"It's fine." Her brusque answer left me little to respond to, and I rather felt the awkward silence that followed.

"Well, that's all. Have a good day." I continued up the stairs, glancing over my shoulder as I did before I came to an abrupt stop. Raphtalia, for a brief moment, was on the same step as Tabitha, and when she was it almost looked the two were of a height to each other.

No, I shook my head. That was my imagination, I was just being silly. Still, despite myself, I paused at the top of the stairs to wait for Raphtalia and compare her height to mine. She looked a little confused at first, but caught onto what I was doing when I placed the flat of my palm on the top of her head and found it to be level with the bottom of my nose.

I gaped, trying to remember exactly where she was before and recalled her to be at about the size of my chin. Actually, even as I looked at her it almost looked like the clothes that had been too loose the day before were now fitting her almost perfectly.

"Raphtalia tall." Her words broke me out of my reverie, and I blinked down at her dummly. She raised her hand over her head and stood on tip toes so her eyes were level with mine. "Tall, see?"

For the first time, I realised, truly realised the she really wasn't human. Whatever her appearance was, however human-like she might seem, Raphtalia was a creature I summoned. There was no way a person could grow like that in just a few days. The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that when she arrived she was a head shorter than even Tabitha. It had been somewhat gradual, spread over almost a week, but she had definitely grown in that period.

In the shop, I remembered she'd tried to warn me. Her limited Tristanian had made it hard for her, but she'd definitely tried to show me how tall she would be.

As shocking as it was, there really wasn't much I could do about it. Shaking my head in disbelief, I walked into our room and almost collapsed onto the bed, somehow feeling more tired than I should. While I sat with my arms crossed behind my head and staring at the ceiling, I noticed Raphtalia excitedly rifling through the contents of her bag. Her tail swished back and forth as she dug out two little oil paper packages that had been tied shut with some of her cord.

Then she came over to me, and sat on the corner of my bed before opening one of the packages.

"_I got some great components for you, today."_

I sat bolt upright when I saw its contents: a heart. Not a human one, thank Brimir. My eyes were wide with horror as Raphtalia picked up the bloody organ with her and reached across to hold it above my lap. She let go of it, and it landed on my bare leg with a wet plop. The second it touched my skin it dissolved like the rope or chalk from the other day, disappearing without a trace while I stared in stunned horror. Not even the stain of it remained on my skin.

CANINE SENSES UNLOCKED

HEIGHTENED HEARING AND SMELL WHILE ACTIVE.

"W-what are you doing?!" I shrieked, jumping back and standing on my bed.

The noise startled Raphtalia, and she jumped to her feet, too, dropping her second package as she did. "Louise?" She looked up at me, confused.

"Where did you get that?!" I stepped down to the floor and seized the palm of her hand. The blood from before was still there, its smell strong enough that my stomach churned. "Was that a dog? Did you kill someone's dog?!"

Her ears folded down, and she shrunk in on herself. "Sorry. Sorry."

Guilt rose within me at the terrified and bewildered look in her eyes. I fell back down on the bed heavily, releasing her and putting my head in the palm of my hands. My weight bent the mattress slightly, and I flinched when her other package slid down to touch my thigh.

When I looked back up at her, she took an involuntary step backwards and my stomach plummeted.

_Killing machine._

"You don't even know what you've done wrong, do you?" I murmured aloud.

She just looked at me, confused and worried I might yell at her more.

With trembling hands, I carefully picked up her other oil paper package and opened it gingerly in my lap. This one didn't contain anything as gruesome as the first one, but it was still bizarre and worrying. A pair of snake fangs, each as long as my thumb. When I carefully picked them up at the base, they disappeared into my fingers in a way that was growing familiar.

VENOM I UNLOCKED

AUGMENTS OFFENSIVE SPELLS WITH POISONOUS DAMAGE OVER TIME.

_Stronger from killing._

And suddenly it clicked. Raphtalia was trying to help me. In her mind, as alien and inhuman as it was, she was simply trying to help me grow more powerful. Last night when the chalk had disappeared, she'd immediately started trying to find other things to feed my newfound power. Clearly she had to have known about it somehow. It was possibly an ordinary thing in her homeland, wherever that was.

"R-Raphtalia, come here." I looked back up at her. When she hesitated I beckoned her over with a hand.

Slowly and carefully she approached me, looking like nothing more than a scared little girl. When she came into rang, I reached out and pulled her in for a hug, drawing a startled meep from her.

"I'm sorry." I told her. "I shouldn't have yelled, you just surprised me."

She seemed stiff in my arms, before relaxing and gingerly returning the embrace.

We stayed like that until I felt myself calm down, and I slowly tried to decide what to do. Slowly I realised that I had no idea at all. My familiar lusted for blood, and I had no real idea what she even was let alone how to get her top stop. The only thing that did was the sword.

Before anything else, I needed to return to the capital and buy that damn thing.

* * *

**AN: Please let me know about any errors I've made.**


	20. Chapter 20

With a few minutes to calm down and think things over, it was clear that I had overreacted. I would argue that it was understandable why I did so, after all Raphtalia did actually dump the gory heart of some unknown creature quite literally into my lap. But looking at it in a different light, at least thus far it seemed that she hadn't actually hurt any humans. I would of course make careful inquiries about any strange disappearances in the vicinity of the castle, but I don't suspect them to show anything.

It wasn't like Raphtalia had been trying to hide her adventures at any rate. She was quite eager to present the evidence of her efforts to me at the first chance. What had been so shocking about it was learning that such a sweet face would hide such violent intentions.

It was a little bit like a cat, actually. A sweet, purring little ball of fur that would eagerly kill any small creature it found purely for its own amusement. The cat might even be worse, given how sadistically they played with the mice and birds they managed to ensnare before slaying them.

A familiar who was dangerous might actually be rather a boon. My mother's manticore, for example, was a fine companion and guardian for her, though I doubt Raphtalia would ever be quite as fierce as _that_. It would just mean I had to keep a closer eye on her. Instead of allowing her to sneak off while I was busy with my lessons, Raphtalia would simply have to start attending them with me.

It shouldn't be too unusual. Only the larger, more disruptive familiars like a dog would be required to wait outside, and Raphtalia was very well behaved whenever she wasn't slaughtering tribes of goblins. The rest of the time, she would be with me and thus receive no chances to harm to any more creatures. Then a number of days from now when the school week ended, I would take another trip to the capital buy Derflinger. I should be able to keep her under control until then.

That was where we were now. I sat in my chair, quill in hand and studiously taking notes in class, while Raphtalia occupied the seat next to mine and looked bored. Without any ability to understand the lecture, all she could do was sit there and watch the birds out the window. Of course I felt sorry for her, but this was just the price of bad behaviour.

My mother would do the same for me. Actually, if she'd caught me tracking out into the wilderness to hunt goblins unsupervised she probably would've done much worse.

In the end I was too soft with her again, and gave her a sheet of parchment and a stick of charcoal to sketch with. By the end of the lesson her hands were smudged black, but she'd produced a surprisingly detailed sketch of the classroom and its occupants. I wasn't honestly sure I could do better, though she added little annotations next to everyone's head. They simply bore a number and the letters HP. It was strange though. Everyone else's HP seemed to be much smaller than Raphtalia or mine when I looked around the classroom as well. Why on earth could that be?

She was also producing some odd noises as time passed. Sitting next to me, I could occasionally hear a grinding sound from inside her that seemed to cause her a little discomfort as she would shift about and rub her back whenever I heard it. It was loud enough that Kirche, who was seated in the row in front of us, would occasionally glance back as she searched for its source.

The lessons eventually came to an end, but not before another notification appeared in my vision.

56 XP

CONGRATULATIONS, LEVEL UP!

Immediately I looked across to see Raphtalia sitting there, flicking her finger through the air in a manner I'd seen her do before while smiling happily for some reason. I was under the impression I received XP whenever Raphtalia slew something, though? Maybe I was wrong and that wasn't what that meant?

"Don't you think it's a little cruel to force Raphtalia to sit through that, Zero?" Kirche took the time to needle me as we left the room.

"Thank you for your concern, Zerbst." I rolled my eyes at her. "But Raphtalia has been ill behaved of late, and will have to bear with the consequences of her actions."

"Good morning, Kirche." Raphtalia said to her as she yawned loudly and rubbed at her eyes.

"Good morning to you, too." Kirche answered cheerily. "What could she have possibly done that was so bad?"

"I don't think that's any of your business, Zerbst." I answered, testily. "And don't confuse her, it's evening!"

"You know, Louise, you're so unpleasant that I suspect if I didn't talk to you, no one would." She rolled her eyes and walked away.

Me? Unpleasant? That was rich coming from her! She was by far the most prevalent of my tormentors. If she thought the occasional _pleasant _word would make me forget the years of mockery I endured at her hands, she had another thing coming!

Raphtalia rushed up the stairs to our room two at a time, and I hurried along behind her. "Slow down!" I called up, but she ignored me or didn't understand. As I came up the stairs, I only just caught sight of her tail as it disappeared into our room again. What was she so excited about?

Inside I found her hunched over her mousetrap and fiddling with it.

"Did you catch something?" That must have been the XP from earlier. That was strange, though. There shouldn't have been any mice in the castle at all? It had wards cast over it to keep pests like that away.

After a moment, Raphtalia stood up and turned to face me with something cradled in her hands. She walked towards me with a very confused look on her face, her lips pursed with puzzlement.

"What's the matter?" I asked her.

"Mouse, XP too big, sixty one points?" She opened her palms out to me. "Why?"

Once more I gasped, and put my hands to my face as I stared at the dead little mouse cupped in her palms. It's white colour made it instantly identifiable. "Chuchu?" I said in disbelief.

The headmaster's familiar.

"Oh no." I held out my arm for her to give it to me. "We have tell him right away, he's had this familiar for decades and-"

Raphtalia tilted her hand, dropping the tiny body, into the palm of my hand. Immediately, it began to dissolve.

"No!" I tried to drop it, but it was too late. "No-no-no!"

In less than a second it had disappeared completely. Nothing remained. Not a trace, except for the words:

FAMILIAR MAGIC III UNLOCKED.

...Never mind waiting a week. Even if it meant missing classes I was going to the city tomorrow, and buying that damn sword.

* * *

**AN: I couldn't find a canonical height for Raphtalia as an adult. Naofumi is 176 centimetres, and in the anime when the two stand next to each other the top of her head seems to come to about the bottom of his eyes. So, I think 168 centimetres sounds reasonable for her. Certainly above average for a Japanese woman, or a medieval peasant for that matter. If anyone could come up with a more accurate number please let me know. For the record, Louise's canonical height at this point is 150 centimetres. **

**I don't know if this was funny or dark, but I suppose those aren't mutually exclusive categories.**


	21. Chapter 21

"_Chu-Chu!"_ The old human, Osmond, cried out in obvious grief, putting his head in his hands as tears ran down his cheeks. "_Those little whiskers and paws, gone forever! I'll never look through those beady little eyes again!"_

I felt incredibly awkward standing there next to Louise. Apparently the mouse I caught was the old human's pet, or at least that was my best guess. Immediately after absorbing the components, Louise had gathered my traps and taken them directly to this office. Soon some other adults, I believe they were teachers, came and Louise told them what happened.

Just one thing confused me. If the mouse was a pet, why was it sneaking about instead of being kept safe in a cage somewhere? What was it doing in the girl's dorms in the first place? It wasn't like there was much food there.

I couldn't help but think Osmond should have just taken better care of his pets in the first place, though he was obviously greatly saddened. I did feel a little guilty. Only a little, though.

"_Oh, Osmond." _Professor Colbert looked on in sympathy.

"_The things we saw, together!" _He sobbed loudly. "_You can't even imagine."_

"_What happened to the body?"_ A woman I hadn't met before spoke up. She was dressed in a severe, professional manner with long green hair, and was quite pretty.

"_...Raphtalia ate it." _Louise answered her.

I heard my name, so I guessed they were talking about me. But why did the secretary then give me such a strange look?

"_Eaten!" _Osmond cried out with renewed despair. "_He was my familiar for six decades, and I can't even bury him!"_

"_Really?" _Then Colbert looked at me strangely.

It was a mouse! Of course I killed it. What else was I supposed to do?

Louise coughed. "_I was surprised too. She's had a growth spurt of sorts, so I guess she's hungry."_

"_Growth spurt?" _He was leaning closer and peering over his glasses at me. It wasn't like he was leering, but his gaze was starting to unnerve me. "_In just a few days?"_

"_She's taller now by a good few inches than when I summoned her."_

"_How interesting."_

The woman cleared her throat. "_Well, what did you want to do about this then, Osmond?"_

"_I just don't know!" _The old man broke into renewed sobs. "_If only someone would hold me, I might be able to calm down a little and think this through."_

She heaved a long sigh, before walking over and putting a hand on his shoulder. The old man seized the limb to pull her into an awkwardly close hug that pressed her chest to his. The woman immediately jerked out of it and shot him an angry look.

"_Oh, Chuchu. Even in death you're memory will guide me in our shared quest for years to come." _The oldman wiped the tears from his eyes and seemed to compose himself. "_Honestly, I just don't think there's anything to do about it."_

Colbert nodded. "_I agree. She probably saw, uh, Chuchu in the room, and thought of it as just a pest." _

"_Or a snack."_ Osmond muttered something.

Louise breathed out a subtle sigh, that I seemed to be the only one to notice.

"_My only question is why he was in the girls dorm in the first place?" _The woman gave a long look at Osmond.

"_W-What I want to know, is why we can't, er, ask young Raphtalia here about these events directly?" _Osmond was looking at me now.  
"_What do you mean, sir?" _Louise subtly stepped forward so she was between me and the old man. What was going on? Were they talking about punishing me?

"_Well, surely someone could cast a translation spell for the poor girl?"_

Suddenly they were all looking at Louise.

"_I-I'm not sure I can cast the spell on her safely, sir." _What was on the floor that Louise suddenly found so interesting?

"_Ah, I see." _Osmond stepped forward. "_Than if you don't mind, I can?"_

"_S-sure." _Louise turned towards me and put a hand on my shoulder. Using Tristainian words I understood, she tried to explain what was happening in a calm voice. "Colbert cast spell."

"Hurts?" I asked

"No." She shook her head. "Good spell."

"Promise?"

"Yes."

I was still feeling nervous, but I didn't think Louise was likely to lie to me. She put her hands on my shoulders and steered me so I was between her and Colbert. He began to chant something I didn't recognise, leaving a hint of hot sparks trailing from his staff. His chant ended and he pointed the tip of it towards me. One of the sparks shot out of the staff and I flinched as it seemingly passed straight through me.

"There." Colbert looked satisfied. "Do you understand me, now?"

I blinked in shock. "Y-Yes." Somehow the words he spoke sounded completely natural to my ears. It was just like I was speaking Melomarcian, but I could identify the different sounds and their meanings without any hesitation.

"Excellent. The translation spell seems to be working fine." He turned to Osmond."

"You can cast a translation spell?" I blurted out. The only magic I knew of capable of that was one of the cardinal or vassal weapons.

"Why, yes I can." He smiled at me. "I would have done it sooner if I'd thought of it."

I turned towards Louise, who hesitated before smiling at me sadly. "I was worried I might hurt you by accident if I tried casting it."

I nodded slowly in understanding. "Well, it's nice to finally be able to talk to you."

"Yes, we'll have a _lot _to talk about."

"For now, it's past time I introduced myself, young miss. I'm Osmond, the headmaster of this academy." He stated it somewhat grandly, his voice carrying the weight of age.

"I'm Raphtalia." I answered simply, bowing my head low when I did. Obviously I wanted to ask more, but Louise was looking a little nervous for some reason. Maybe it would be best to hold my questions for Louise when we got back to our room?

"I wanted to ask you about why you killed my familiar, Chuchu?"

"The mouse?" At his nod I continued. "It was in our room, and it's unhygienic." Then I added after a moment. "Also for the experience."

"The experience?" Colbert repeated the word in a confused tone.

"That's right."

"The experience of killing a mouse?" He sounded like he didn't believe it.  
"I know it's not a lot, but yes."

All three of them looked at each other, slightly confused. The woman was the one to answer. "Louise said you might have been hungry?"

At the mere mention of food my stomach started growling, and I blushed in embarrassment. "Y-yes. Is dinner soon?"

Again they all looked to each other. "Louise, why don't you take Raphtalia down to dinner, while we decide what's to be done?" The woman suggested.

* * *

**AN: And here I thought the translation spell would help clear up the misunderstandings.**

**Someone shared a source with me that said Raphtalia's height is 170 cm, so she'd be as tall as Kirche. I wasn't very far off at all with my guess. It might be fanon, but I'll work with that. Louise would be a full head shorter than her.**

**Please inform me of any mistakes I've made.**


	22. Chapter 22

Much to my dismay, Louise completely ignored the teachers instructions to take me to the dining hall. Instead I found myself back in her room with the door pulled shut, and the window closed with the curtains drawn.

"We shouldn't be interrupted now." Louise murmured, as she took a wedge from her desk and slid it under the door.

I didn't say or do anything but watch as she secured the room. Looking up at the rafters and biting her lip, she glanced to me, before sitting down at the toe of her bed and letting out a long slow breath.

I stood there silently, waiting for her to speak.

"Why don't you sit here, and we can talk." She patted the soft sheets next to her. "There are a lot of things I need to ask you."

"Okay." I took the spot she indicated, though I couldn't help feeling a little nervous. What did we need to talk about? I wasn't really sure I'd done anything wrong… I could feel her body's warmth through the arm she put around my shoulder. Gently she pulled me closer to her in a hug.

"This is the first time we're really going to speak with each other, though I will miss our lessons." Louise began to speak in a gentle voice. "I just want you to know that I'm not angry, just... _worried,_ so you don't need to keep anything from me. I promise I won't get angry, so please tell me the truth, okay?"

"Okay." I promised in a voice that sounded small, even to me.

"The day I summoned you, you cast a spell on me. What was it?"

...Thinking back, I didn't cast any magic at all on that first day. "I didn't."

She continued. "It might not have been a spell, but some power of yours knocked me out when I cast the familiar binding spell on you."

"Was that this?" I rolled up my sleeve to show her the runes on my hand.

"Yes, that's exactly what that was." She released me a little so she could stare straight into my eyes. "And it must have scared you a lot, because you then shocked me with some black lightning, didn't you?"

I quickly shook my head. "I didn't do that, it just happened when you made me join your party."

She looked almost as confused by my answer as I felt by her question. "What party do you mean?"

"Um… Here." I raised my menu and brought up my current party. It contained just two names, 'Louise Françoise de la Blanc de la Vallière' and 'Raphtalia'. "It's just you and me, but you must have gotten your share of the experience?" I looked back up at her.

She bit her lip, before copying my movement and reading her hud carefully. "Where does it say party?"

That was a silly question, but I told her it was under status.

"...When did I create this 'party'?"

"When you gave me this?" I showed her the runes again.

"You're trying to explain things to me, but I'm just getting more confused." She shook her head and breathed out. "What's a 'party'?"

"It's so we can adventure together and share rewards from kills."

Her eyebrows came together. "Like Osmond's mouse, or the goblin tribe?"

"Yeah!" I smiled, she seemed to understand now. "Have you never partied up before?"

"No, I haven't." She answered slowly. "Did you kill anyone or anything else since I summoned you."

"Just the giant snake and a few wargs. Remember the heart and fangs?"

"Yes, I definitely do." She swallowed, before pressing. "And nothing else? No_one _else?"

I shook my head again.

She breathed a long sigh of relief. "Okay, that's good… When you say the 'reward' from kills, what did you mean exactly?"

"I meant the experience, but also loot drops too." I frowned. "I haven't got any of those since I came here, though."

"The experience of what? Are you trying to learn something?" Without waiting for my answer, she continued. "Are you trying to grow stronger?"

"I am growing stronger." Her questions were getting a little strange. "You should be too, we're in a party. You should be a lot stronger now, since you're level six like me."

"What do you mean by 'level'?"

"Um, there should be a help menu that can answer a lot of questions like that." I felt a little embarrassed to point that out, but I suppose not everyone read that for themselves. Somehow I can't imagine someone like Princess Malty, or Bitch as she came to be known, doing that. I got the impression Louise was quite studious though, but regardless.

"'Help'?" She repeated, and started stiffly flicking through her menu. Her movements were odd, like she'd never done it before.

While she was doing that I continued. "Um, I'm sorry you were reset to level one, I don't know why that happened."

"That's fine." Louise answered absently as she stared at her menu. "How exactly does leveling up make you stronger?"

"Um, in basically every way." She looked down at me in shock. "It makes you faster, stronger, raises your hp and mp… Everything."

"And you get this from killing?"

"Yes? With experience _from_ killing."

"...And I'm now getting this 'experience' too?"

What was going on here? I gave a nod.

Louse sat there for a while, thinking carefully about what I said. "Alright, now can you tell-"

"Uh." I interrupted her, than immediately closed my mouth. When she motioned for me to continue I asked her. "Can I ask things too?"

"...You may." She nodded.

"Why did you summon me?"

"...To be my familiar." Louise paused when she saw my expression. "Do you not know what that is?"

"No."

"I see." She thought about it for a moment. "When a mage gets to a certain age they will summon a familiar for themselves in what's called the Springtime Summoning Ritual. The familiar they summon is to be a lifelong companion and guardian for their Summoner, and they're distinguished from common beasts by the mark the mage gives them. That's why that mark appeared on your hand."

"Oh…" A slave again, then... "Are there any other demihumans summoned like me?"

"No." Louise shook her head sadly. "Before I summoned you, I'd never even heard of a creature like you."

Wouldn't that mean…? "So then… Flame is Kirche familiar, and the other animals are the other mage's familiars?"

"Yes."

My voice trembled. "...So I'm your pet?"

"No-no-no!" Louise quickly shook her head. "Definitely not, I… I admit I've never heard of an intelligent familiar before, but there's no way I would treat you like an animal." She pulled me in for another hug. "I- I'll admit I had expected something like a pet, but I have no intention of demeaning you to such a state."

A tension I hadn't realised I was feeling left me, and I returned her embrace. "You didn't want to summon me?"

"The ritual is supposed to find the perfect companion for the Summoner, but I did not know that would be you."

That made sense, I suppose. If I was given the choice of what I wanted to summon, I would certainly choose something like Tabitha's dragon over Osmond's mouse. How that thing was supposed to act as a guardian, I wasn't sure.

Wait… "That mouse was Osmond's familiar?"

Louise hesitated before answering. "Yes."

"I… killed his lifelong companion?" Guilt welled up within me, as I looked up at her.

"You had no way of knowing that at the time!" Louise quickly reassured me. "I'm sure if you had known, you would not have done so."

"I wouldn't have!" I promised her. "Oh, I feel bad now."

"...That's why it's very important we don't kill anymore." Louise said.

I looked up at her. "I won't hurt anyone else's familiar, I promise."

"I know you won't." Louise stroked my hair. "Or anyone's pets either?"

"No, definitely not."

"Or anyone for that matter?"

"Yes, I promise. Just goblins and other monsters."

"..." Louise hesitated. "Or how about we just stop killing, generally?"

"...But what about the experience?"

"Well, I can live without it."

"But… How will I grow up?"

"...Is the experience you've gained the reason you've been growing taller?"

"It's how demihumans mature."

Louise seemed to be considering it very carefully. "...Will it make me taller too?"

I shook my head. "Humans don't grow the way demihumans do."

A look of disappointment crossed her face. "I see."

"But it will make you stronger, and smarter and better at magic and everything else." I was quick to add. "And with more components we gather, you'll learn new spells like the one you got from my rope."

"New spells?" She looked at me. "...This experience can teach me magic?"

"Um, the item drops from the creatures we slay can." I paused, before adding. "Do… Do you want to come hunting with me?"

A conflicted look came over her face, and she looked away. "I have class, it would be wrong to leave when my parents are paying for my tuition."

"You're very good at magic already, though." I leaned forward so I was looking up at her. My tail was twitching with excitement. "Come hunting with me tomorrow, your explosions will be really useful! We'll grow so much stronger together, I promise!"

"I… I'll need to think about it." Louise pursed her lips, looking conflicted. "A-Anyway, tomorrow I need to go to the capital to buy that sword. For now we have to go back to the headmaster's office."

How disappointing. I hadn't even got to have dinner yet.

"Don't pout." She told me sternly. "You need to apologise to Master Osmond, and then there are many more things I want to ask you about after that."

"Okaaay." I sighed. "What was that mouse doing in the dorms anyway?"

"That…" Louise's brows came together. "That's a very good question, actually."

* * *

**AN: Please let me know about any mistakes you find.**


	23. Chapter 23

The door opened with an ominous creak, and Louise entered ahead of me with a softly spoken greeting. As I passed through the door behind, I couldn't help but feel nervous again. Not for me, but for her. I was her familiar, which if it was anything like the master and slave relationships of Melomarc, meant she would bear the brunt of the consequences of my actions.

"Welcome back." Headmaster Osmond was the first one to speak up. "Now... We've had some time to talk about this, and we have agreed that any form of severe punishment would be unnecessary."

"We're glad to hear that." Louise bowed her head politely. Her head turned to look at Mr Colbert when he spoke up.

"However, we do feel some form of correction is necessary, to make sure nothing like this happens again." The man sounded almost apologetic as he spoke.

"I understand." Louise lowered her eyes to the floor. "I'm willing to accept whatever you see as necessary."

"That's very mature of you." Mr Colbert said, approvingly.

"Before we continue, I think Raphtalia has something to say." Louise ushered me forwards.

I came to stand in front of, before the crowd of adults. "I'm so terribly sorry." I bowed my head to the headmaster. "I didn't know that mouse was your familiar. I would never have hurt him if I knew how important he was to someone. I apologise, and offer my condolences."

He looked at me for a long time, before sighing. "I accept your apology, and I'm grateful for your compassion. It's… not the first time I've outlived an old friend, I'm afraid." He smiled sadly. "Chuchu lived a very long, very happy life for a mouse. More than he could have ever asked for. I-" He stopped and rubbed at the corners of his eyes. "Colbert would you be so kind as to take over for a moment?"

Colbert put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and continued smoothly where he left off. "First of all, Raphtalia is clearly unused to Tristain, and in particular the ways of doing things among nobility. For that reason, it's going to be necessary for her to be supervised by a member of staff whenever she's not with you, Miss Valliere."

"I understand." Louise answered simply.

"Bu-" I raised my voice to object, but Louise put her hand on my shoulder and I closed my mouth.

Colbert looked at me, before continuing to speak to Louise. "Secondly, we're going to have to confiscate Raphtalia's weapons."

"But those are-"

"Raphtalia." Louise cut across me, and my ears flattened against the top of my head. She squeezed my shoulder. "It's going to be okay."

Colbert looked at us regretfully. "Thirdly, we're going to have to contact your mother and father to explain what happened."

"...My mother?" Her tone wavered slightly.

"Well, obviously she's going to have to be informed. This is quite a serious incident."

"...I see." Louise thought about it for a long moment. "What will you tell her?"

"Everything, of course."

"The whole incident? Including where the mouse was at the time?" Her tone changed on the second sentence, along with the atmosphere in the room.

Osmond suddenly looked up sharply, his pupils dilating as they focused on Louise.

"Of course." Colbert seemed oblivious to the sudden tension in the air.

I felt a slight tingle on the back of my neck, as Louise spoke sharply. "To be sure, that would be in the girls dorms."

Colbert nodded. "Yes, of course."

"So, that is to say, you intend to inform my mother, Karin of the Heavy Wind, and my father, the Duke de la Valliere, that your _familiar _was in the roof of the room that his _daughter_ was staying in?"

I had no idea what she was implying, but there was something I wanted to correct. "Um." All three of them suddenly looked at me, and I took a step backwards before I realised I had. My voice sounded small even to my ears. "It… It wasn't just your room, Louise. I saw him in Kirche's room too."

"I see." Louise crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. "Perhaps there are other families that need to be informed about this as well?" At that exact moment, her expression reminded me of Naofumi's. Specifically when he was shaking down bandits for gold.

A look of slow dawning comprehension came over Colbert's face, and he turned to the headmaster, though I wasn't able to follow the unspoken currents of the conversation. "Osmond…"

It was the old man's turn to shrink in on himself.

"All the students at this school are nobility, of course." Louise continued, now sounding worried. "There parents would need to know that their daughters are safe here, of course."

"What's going on?" I asked, but no one answered.

Professor Colbert pinched the bridge of his nose, and blew out a long sigh of disappointment. "Oh, Osmond…"

"On… On second thought, perhaps the letter won't be necessary."

"Won't it?" Louise feigned shock. "But this was a serious incident, needing corrective measures? Surely the school would have to send a letter to my parents if such measures were _necessary_."

Professor Osmond fixed Louise with a long, slow look. In that moment, he looked impossibly tired. "You… are right, of course, Miss Valliere. It was an accident after all."

"It was." She agreed.

"Perhaps no disciplinary action will be necessary at all." Osmond leaned forward in his chair, interlocking his fingers and resting his elbows on the table.

"If that's your judgement, Sir." Louise agreed quickly. "It would seem a reasonable account of things to me."

Colbert shook his head, looking between Louise and Osmond in disbelief.

"Is there anything else?" She asked with obviously feigned innocence.

"..." Osmond pushed my mouse trap across his desk so it was in her reach. "Please dispose of that damn thing as you leave? Colbert, the door if you will."

"Of course, sir." Louise tucked it under her arm. "Come along Raphtalia." She smiled at me gently, before taking my hand and leading me out the door.

I looked over my shoulder as we passed through, and saw the sad look Colbert gave us as he closed the door behind us.

"What was that about?" I looked across at her. "Why did he let us go?"

"Let this be a lesson to you." She didn't glance at me as she replied. Her head was raised high, and she had an air of satisfaction about her. "Good character will always shine through. Those who have done nothing to be ashamed of, need not be ashamed. And those who have, have no right to complain."

* * *

**AN: Please let me know about any mistakes I made.**

**Also, heads up, there's a good chance my uploads this week will be interrupted by events in my professional life. I'll try to get some writing done, but I don't know how exhausting this will be. Of course my goal is daily uploads, but that could be very difficult with a ten hour work day four days in a row.**


	24. Chapter 24

By the time the meeting with the teachers had ended dinner for the students in the hall had as well. I was still hungry, and Louise was also feeling peckish, so she sent me to the servants quarters to get something from the kitchen for the both of us.

When I first came here just a few days ago, I hadn't really noticed how grand the academy looked. The outer walls of the school were hexagon shaped, with a five floor tower at each point. I wasn't entirely certain what the shape of the academy symbolized, but I had no doubt it was supposed to mean something. In the exact center of the hexagon was the even taller main tower of the academy, with its wide base, and high, thing peak. It was clearly a work of passion by its designers, which made the servant's quarters stick out all the more.

By comparison to the rest of the school, the homely little building was quite plain in its design. It was square shaped, with a tiled roof and almost no adornment at all. It looked all the more out of place, because it sat directly at the base of the much grander centre tower of the academy. The difference was so stark, that I would have imagined the building's original architect had simply forgot the need for cooks and cleaners, if all the stone blocks clearly weren't quarried from the same place at the same time.

The sound of my knocking was loud even to me on that still summer night, but it was still a while before someone answered. I could definitely hear people moving around inside, though. When the door opened, I was greeted by a tall man with stubble, wearing an apron with a tea towel on his shoulder.

He looked down at me with a raised eyebrow, before glancing about the courtyard as if searching for someone else, before eventually focusing back on me. "Can I help you?"

"Miss Louise and I had to meet with the teachers, so we missed dinner in the hall." I glanced past him towards the building's interior. "Do you have any leftovers?"

"No, that's the servants dinner and we already ate it." A reluctant expression came over his face, but he answered honestly. "I can fix you two up something, though it might take a bit."

I smiled up at him, and bowed my head. "Thank you."

He moved to the side, giving me room to pass, and I stepped through the doorway before he closed it behind us. The servants quarters were even darker at night, with the only visible light being the flicking glow of candles through door cracks. My night vision was better than a human's anyway, though, and I found my way to the kitchen without accident. The man moved over to the stove, where he added some dry kindling from a bucket to embers to try and stoke the fire up again.

While he did that, I washed my hands with the water pump, and tied on an apron. It was too large for me, stretching down to my ankles but not quite touching the floor.

"You know how to cook?" The man grunted as he stood up.

"I can peel and cut things."

"...Just don't hurt yourself." He looked sceptical, but unwilling to refuse the help.  
Between the two of us, we quickly produced a decent amount of mash potatoes and stewed sausages. It was hardly the most luxurious meal, but there was plenty of it, enough for me to eat my share on the spot and have seconds, with enough left for another two servings. He watched me eat without comment, but he did look surprised at how quickly I ate.

While I was eating, the door to the kitchen creaked open and a familiar face looked through.

"Good evening, Siesta." I happily greeted her, only to pause when I saw the downcast look on her face.

Wordlessly, the chef placed a bowl of food on the bench, and she came over to sit in front of it. "Good evening." She greeted almost as an afterthought.

The room was silent for a moment, except for the clack of her spoon against the side of the bowl and the dishes clinking in the sink as the chef began to clean up. I couldn't help but notice she wasn't actually eating, just stirring her food glumly.

"Um…" I looked between the two of them, the morose atmosphere making me hesitant to speak. "Mr Colbert cast a translation spell on me, so, uh, I can speak Tristanian now…"

Siesta nodded at my explanation. "I'm glad." She made a smile that I knew was only for my sake. "If you have anything you want help with, now you can ask."

"...Y-yeah." Was she just tired?

After that, she managed just a few mouthfuls, before thanking the chef for the food, and disappearing back up the hall.

"Did you want anything else?" The chef asked me, pointedly.

"Uh… N-no." My ears folded against the top of my head, and he suddenly looked guilty for some reason.

"I'll show you out, then." The walk back to the front door was as silent as dinner had been. He wasn't rude at all, just taciturn, and I couldn't help but feel like I was intruding.

It was only when we came to the front door that I turned to ask him, "Why was Miss Siesta sad?"

He breathed out slowly, before reaching out to ruffle my hair. "This isn't something a child should be worried about."

'"B-but-"

"Miss Valliere's food's getting cold." He interrupted, putting a hand on my shoulder and using it to turn me around. "You better hurry."

I didn't resist, and the door closed behind me. There wasn't much for me to do, other than cast a regretful look at the over my shoulder, and return to Louise. Whatever was upsetting Siesta must have been quite serious, but I wasn't sure if it would be right for me to pursue it when it was so obviously private. Still, I couldn't help but be disturbed by the difference between the friendly and bright maid I met earlier, and the gloomy woman I met just then.

On the way up the stairs, I saw Kirche climbing the stairs with her arm draped over a shorter boy in a brown cloak. She seemed to be whispering something, red lips brushing his blushing ear, though I couldn't see his reaction from behind the pair. They looked quite salacious together, so I guessed he was her lover for the night.

"Good evening, Kirche." I greeted her.

She spared me a glance, before standing back up to her full height and turning to face me fully. "Hello, Raphtalia. Did someone teach you the right way to say that?"

"Mr Colbert cast a translation spell for me." I answered her. "Now I can talk with everyone."

"Aw." She pouted, and sighed.

"Um, what's wrong?" I looked up at her.

"Oh, nothing." She reached forward and ruffled my hair.

Why did everybody do that? Naofumi still played with my hair like that when I was well into adulthood. I tried brushing her hand off with mine, which made her chuckle at me.

"Well, you're still cute." She moved back over to her young paramour and led him up the stairs. "Tell Louise I said, 'Hah!', for me, will you?"

"Um… Okay." As she disappeared into her room I couldn't help, but shake my head in confusion. "I'm back." I said to Louise as I came into our room.

"Ah, yes." It looked like she'd been studying at her desk. "It took longer than I expected, did something hold you up?"

"The cook had to make this up for us, he'd missed dinner."

"I assume you already ate?"

"Yes."

She looked across at me. "And did you overeat?"

"Uh…" No I didn't, because I was growing, but by her standards I certainly did.

While I was thinking of an answer that expressed that, she just sighed at me and shook her head. "Oh, fine."

"Um… Also, Kirche asked me to tell you something, but I don't really get it."

Her eyes narrowed. "And what was her message?"

"She said to say, 'Hah!' To you. That's it."

"...In what context?"

"Um… I told her that Colbert had cast a translation spell on me."

Louise's nose twitchted, and she hissed. "That _cow."_

I still didn't get it. Must have been an inside joke between friends.

* * *

**AN: Sorry about that lack of updates these last few days. Hopefully things have calmed enough now for daily updates to resume.**

**One benefit of the break is it's given me some time to read further in the Rising of the Shield Hero light novels. One major difference from the anime is the effort the show went to in order to make Naofumi more heroic. In the anime he shows mercy even though he probably shouldn't, where as in the light novel he's the one pushing for the death penalty with some enthusiasm. Or in the anime when Naofumi encourages Raphtalia to show moderation when dealing with one of her past tormentors, but in the light novel fully encourages her to slay him.**

**Not sure which version I should go with for this story. Thoughts? **

**Let me know about any errors I make.**

**Coming soon, Count Mott. **


	25. Chapter 25

That morning, I asked Louise if she wanted to go hunting with me, and instead had my dagger confiscated. Normally that wouldn't be such a problem, I was getting to the height and strength now where my sword was usable, and I could just take that from Colbert's office with relative ease. Unfortunately, Louise had foreseen that outcome and taken _all_ of my weapons when she left for the capital that morning. Even the magic sword! To her that should have looked like nothing but a hilt without a blade, but apparently she regarded it with some suspicion. All I could do was watch as she left in a carriage, with her only mercy being that she didn't make me ride with her.

Well, there went that plan for the day. While all the students were heading to classes for the day, I was left in the courtyard once again playing fetch with Flame and Tabitha's dragon, who's name I still didn't know. Normally it wouldn't be so bad, but with nothing else to do and nothing to work on, I quickly grew bored. It wasn't long until even the salamander was too tired of the game to continue, curling up in the sunlight just at my toes while I rested my back against the castle wall. His breathing soon evened out and turn into peaceful slumber. I wish I could join him, but I was feeling a little too restless.

The line of sunlight that had been on my ankles had moved to my knees as the shadows shortened, before something happened. A carriage pulled up to the castle, and a well dressed, thin man got out to head inside while the coachman waited with the horses. I was only half interested until Siesta came out with him, looking pale and faintly trembling.

Immediately I took notice, sitting up suddenly enough to startle the wind dragon whose nose I'd been absently stroking. Wordlessly, the man helped Siesta climb the step into the stagecoach, before climbing up behind her. He called out to the driver, and the carriage set off. The last I saw of Siesta was her wet eyes, catching mine through the vehicle's window before she moved beyond the castle gate and out of sight.

I didn't know what was going on, but my stomach was churning uncomfortably. The girl wasn't much older than Louise by my reckoning, maybe seventeen or eighteen, and yet the look of barely controlled terror on her face brought me back to a cold, dark dungeon. In my ears echoed the sound of soft soled boots, eagerly descending the stone stairs to visit fresh horrors on tender young flesh.

Before I even realised it, I was running across the courtyard and towards the servant's quarters as the dragon's surprised cry faded behind me. My feet carried me forwards, past startled staff and swinging doors, through the dimly lit hall until I came to a room that smelled of baking bread roast meat.

The door smacked into the wall with a loud bang, drawing all eyes in the kitchen to me. Amidst them I saw the head chef, frozen with a spoon of oil in hand that he was about to drizzle over a rack of lamb.

"Where's Siesta going?!" I asked the silent room.

One by one, the adults in the room lowered their gaze and went about their work. Even the head chef simply shook his head, before taking up a pinch of salt to rub into the meat.

I hurried through the room until I was right behind him. "Why was Siesta so scared?" I worked some moisture back into my throat which was now feeling dry. "Please, what's going on?"

"...She's gone to work for the Count de Mott." He answered after a while.

"And who's that?" I pressed.

"A wealthy noble." His answer came reluctantly, as if even the vague answers he was giving were making him uncomfortable.

Frustration welled up inside me, and I grabbed his sleeve. "Please." I begged. "Tell me what's making her so scared."

"..." He didn't answer.

"The Count Mott is a terrible man." A plump, older woman I didn't recognise answered.

"Emma." The chef warned sharply. "You know that's not wise."

"S'true though, 'innit?" A younger girl with a thick accent replied. "Right nasty pig, he is. He destroys women's lives and throws 'em away when he's had 'is fill."

"What does he do to them?"

"Clementine!" The chef barked at her. "She's a child."

The long haired maid just rolled her eyes at him, before answering me. "It'd be bad enough if he was jus' takin their maidenhood, you see. But for a pregnant peasant to find work? Or a husband? Forget about it. All's left for a woman like that is the shelters, which ain't places you want to ever be. The groomers hang out in those places, and a pretty young thing like her would catch their eyes in a moment, and they'd catch her soon after." She snapped her fingers. "She'd be gone, just like that."

"It might not be so bad." One man offered. "Siesta has family, her parents could take her in."

"That's enough, all of you!" The chef shouted, slamming his fist on the table. "What's talking about it going to do? If you're not here to work, maybe you'd like to take your chances in the shelters?!" He glared at them all one by one, before stopping on Clementine. "I don't know how it was in Albion, but we've got it better than most in this castle, and if you want to stay here, you're gonna do your job well, and stop speaking ill of your betters! You think I'm the one you gotta worry about? You think you'll be able to stay here if a student has a complaint about you?"

She didn't reply.

Breathing out through his nose, he fixed me with a sad gaze. "It's just the way it is, and talking about it won't help. Beauty can be as much as a curse as a blessing, and Siesta caught someone's eye and there's nothing any of us can do about it."

That seemed to be the end of it. I left the room feeling even worse than when I came in. It wasn't any of my business, and it hadn't been quite as bad as I was imagining, but still… The similarities between my story and Siesta's unnerved me. Sold as a play thing to a cruel overseer, merely for the sake of slaking his depraved urges.

But what could I do? She'd already left, and even if retrieved her the Count would simply reclaim her. Without my weapons I couldn't fight very well. I might have been level six, but even with my improved stat growth I was still only barely as strong as an adult man. A Count would have soldiers, and guards, and even if I did assassinate him that didn't promise Siesta's safe return.

Feeling helpless was always so incredibly painful. My thoughts wandered to Naofumi, and that terrible duel. Of watching him struggle with ingenuity and valiance. He won, even with a crippling disadvantage, only to have that victory snatched away unfairly while I watched, gagged and bound. Afterwards, I'd been dragged off to have his slave mark stripped from me.

The relief I felt when it was returned was…

I blinked slowly, looking down towards my chest… The slave crest…

Mind suddenly whirling with the possibilities, a plan half formed in my head as I ran to the stables. A horse, I needed a horse if I was to catch up that carriage. I'd never ridden one before, only Filo, but I would just have to figure out how to do it on the way…

The horse I was approaching panicked and reared up. I fell backwards and cursed at the stupid beast. At the sound, a stable hand came over to berate me and drag me away from the ring, but I barely paid attention.

I needed to get to find that manse before Siesta did, but there was no way I could chase them down on foot.

"Aroooo?" Something heavy poked into my shoulder, and I turned to see Tabitha's dragon.

I blinked slowly, before reaching out to touch her nose. "W-" I swallowed. "Would you let me ride you?"

There was a long pause, then the dragon nodded once.

* * *

**AN: Thank you for the discussion on the last chapter. I'm still undecided about Naofumi, but I'll give my thoughts for now… Anime Naofumi (henceforth referred to as Naofumi A) does come across as a little more soft hearted than Light Novel Naofumi (henceforth referred to as Naofumi LN). At the same time, though, Naofumi A actually feels less childish than Naofumi LN to me. While I appreciate Naofumi LN's more ruthless side, Naofumi A gives the impression that he actually has his priorities in order a bit better. Maybe that's just me. When I first watched the anime, I figured Naofumi A purchased Raphtalia because he thought he could cure her sickness with his homemade medicine, and thus save money on the purchase while raising her value for resale. That was sort of implied, though not stated. In the Light Novel, Naofumi states in his narration that chooses Raphtalia because he's projecting his anger at Malty onto all women.**

**See what I mean? Sure Naofumi LN is edgier, but he doesn't always give me the impression of being smarter or more pragmatic.**

**Anyway, I'm undecided. If anyone has anymore thoughts, please share them.**

**I've also deviated from Familiar of Zero slightly. For one thing, Sylphid lives in the forest, not that castle, but it's not unreasonable that Sylphid would hang out in the Academy yard from time to time. Two, Siesta was a bit better composed when she was to be taken by Mott in cannon, but I needed a way to convey the urgency to Raphtalia. O hope nobody minds too much.**

**Let me know if I've made any errors above.**


	26. Chapter 26

Siesta's obvious terror had given way to exhausted acceptance by the time she arrived at the manner. Her face was red and swollen from tears long before the gates were in sight, but that did little to hide her pleasing face and figure. Even as disheveled as she was, the Count de Mott took one look at her, rubbed his large belly eagerly, and ordered she be made ready for the bedroom.

He headed up to his room eagerly, while a team of servants took Siesta through the manor to a private chamber. The manor itself was relatively benign in appearance, though opulently decorated.

It was when Siesta passed into the private chambers that she saw many errotic paintings and statues that lined the walls, and the silhouettes of naked women that were embroidered even into the carpets. The maids efficiently dolled and prettied her up, and she emerged from the back of the manor less than an hour later with a powdered face and wearing an evening dress so revealing that she was trying to protect her modesty with her hands.

She arrived at the Count's bed chambers, trembling anew as the door was opened from the inside by the man himself.

Mott simply looked at her, and breathed out with satisfaction. "Excellent. Leave us."

Then it was just the three of us in his room.

"Oh, yes, how excellent." Mott's hands moved compulsively in little circles across his belly. "Hold your hands to your hips, and turn about for me."

Hesitantly, but compliantly, Siesta gingerly touched her waist and rotated on the spot.

"Don't be scared, dear." He smiled at her eagerly. "Come, take my hand. You're a virgin, yes?"

Without enthusiasm, she placed her small, delicate hands inside his meaty fingers and was pulled softly, but forcefully to the bed.

"Undress me." He ordered, sitting on his large rump and raising the soles of his boots towards her.

Trembling, she gently picked at the laces and pulled the shoes off his feet, before rolling down his socks as well. The entire time, his gaze was on her, barely blinking and never looking elsewhere for a moment.

"Don't be afraid." He reassured her. "It will hurt a little at first, but it will feel good after that."

He puffed out his chest to her, and she began to unbutton his coat one by one.

"That's it." With his hand he began to gently pet her. "I'm very good at this, you see. Very practiced. I promise you'll learn to enjoy it."

The last button, the one over his hip came undone, and he began to shrug the jacket off.

"Your face is so very exotic. Tell me, where are you-"

That was when I struck. He was distracted, and he was half out of his coat with both arms raised in the air. He was larger than me, and heavier, but that advantage was taken away when I flipped his outer garments over his head and under his chin. With a yell, he tried to reach back and grab me, but in the precious time it had taken him to untangle from his own clothes, I'd slipped a cord over her his head and wrapped it around his throat.

He kicked out wildly, catching Siesta in the stomach and throwing her to the ground. She groaned, and curled up, staring in pain and shock as the count fell forwards off the bed and tried to throw me loose. I braced my leg against the bedpost, and pushed against it, preventing him from pulling me down. He was stuck there, suspended between the ground and the matress without anything to grab for leverage. Without air he couldn't speak to cast a spell, and gradually his kicking and thrashing slowed.

I didn't let him die though. That wouldn't save Siesta. When I judged him to be weak enough, I loosened the cord from his neck so he could breathe, and shoved a balled up cloth into his mouth before tying a rag around it to gag him. While he was weak from lack of air, I quickly grabbed one arm and tied it behind his back to a bedpost. He resisted when I grabbed his other arm, struggling against me, but at level six I was able to overpower someone as out of shape as he was, and wrapped his other limb to the post with strong cord.

Gagged and tied up, his head rolled back as he desperately sucked air in with his nose, while I took out a pin from the manor's supplies and pricked it into his skin.

"Raphtalia?" Siesta gasped at me, disbelief in her tone. "What are you doing here? You can't attack a count!"

"Shh!" I held a finger to my mouth and looked to the door where the rest of the manor's occupants might've been listening. Satisfied with her shallow nod, I began to mix his blood into the ink I prepared earlier. When it disappeared completely, I used my finger to paint a set of purple runes I knew very well onto his chest. It was a little rough, as his skin moved while he struggled to resist, but I knew my work, and the curse was soon complete.

I took a step back to double check my handiwork, before nodding in satisfaction as he looked between me and the rune with bewilderment. Then the rune began to smoke, and tears welled up in the man's eyes as his thrashing renewed. When the smell of cooking flesh faded, I pricked my finger and dropped a small amount of my own blood onto the mark.

NEW SLAVE REGISTERED.

COUNT MOTT.

I breathed out in relief, and opened my menu to the slave sub section of 'PARTY' and quickly set my commands to the suitable settings. High levels of pain for disobedience, but not lethal. Pain if he attacked me, and no casting magic. I changed a few other things too, but those were the ones that mattered.

"Be quiet." I ordered him, lowly.

He tried to say something to me through the gag, and the slave mark flared up in response. He screamed, and I quickly covered his mouth to muffle the sound further while glancing nervously towards the door.

"You're just hurting yourself, stop." Still he kept moving, and my brows came together as I realised he didn't understand what the curse mark was. "Anytime you disobey me, the mark will hurt you. The pain will only grow worse the longer you resist."

Tears streamed down his face, as he suddenly went limp, nodding weakly.

"Raphtalia, what is this?" Siesta asked lowly, coming up beside me. "How did you get here?"

A few answers flashed through my mind, before I lowered my voice and gave the simplest one. "It's all going to be okay." I put my hand on her shoulder. "Just trust me."

She blinked at that, before nodding slowly.

"Okay, so." I turned to Mott who was looking up at me. "I'm going to untie you. When I do you're going to write a letter for Professor Colbert, stating that you found Siesta to be unsuitable, and are returning her to his service."

He nodded quickly.

I hesitated for a second, before untying the cord around his wrists, and he immediately ripped the gag from his mouth then stood up to his full height, rubbing his wrists. He towered over me and Siesta, but despite that I saw real fear in his eyes when they met mine. After a long moment, he dove for the wand he'd left on the nightstand. Immediately, the curse mark picked up his hostile intention and activated. Mott collapsed to the floor without his fingers ever even brushing it, writhing in agony.

I stood there, arms folded and waited.

"I'll give you money." He whispered hoarsely as the pain faded away. "Just get this thing off me!"

"No, you'll give me Siesta." I corrected, then added. "Get up, and write that letter." After a moment, I opened the menu and flipped on the slave option forbidding deception. "I promise, after you've completed your end of the bargain, I will remove the mark."

It took longer than I would have liked, but eventually he came to understand how dire his situation was.

The letter seemed fine to me as I read it, but I asked him to make sure there was no deception or hidden meaning in it just to be sure. The curse didn't punish him when he reassured me that it was all in order, so I could only believe he was sincere.

"Just remember, I'm watching." I then turned invisible in front of both of them.

Siesta gasped in astonishment, while the count lowered his head piteously.

I watched in silence, as he followed through on my orders. In short order, Siesta was standing in front of a carriage about to take her back to the academy. I gave her hand a reassuring squeeze from under invisibility, which she returned before setting off back to the academy.

With that done, I returned to the count's room, to find him sitting on the end of his bed and nervously waiting for me.

"Alright." He jumped as I announced my presence and appeared before him. "I'll do what I promised." Opening the menu again, I changed the punishment for attacking me from 'extreme pain' to 'instant death'. Then I put my hand on his chest, and chanted a spell.

When I was done, all I could see was nothing but the count's flabby breasts.

He stared down at his now unmarked flesh, and breathed out a sigh of relief while I turned my back on him, and walked to the window to watch what he did in its reflection.

"I really don't like hurting people." I murmured quietly, almost as much for myself as him. "I'm sorry to have done that to you."

"I do not accept your apology, _cur_!" He snarled at me, and snatched up his wand. "Aqua-"

He didn't even finish the first word of his spell, before the curse mark activated again, breaking the illusion I'd cast over his body. The man only had time to see the faint glow of purple, before his heart was burned to ash instantly.

227 XP!

I heaved a sad sigh, and chanted the spell for invisibility.

* * *

**AN: Nothing in the series made it clear that the Curse Mark was the product of a specific school of magic. I figure Raphtalia would surely be familiar with the process by now.**

**Too much of a stretch?**


	27. Chapter 27

198 XP!

I blinked in shock as the words popped into my vision, then groaned loudly in frustration. It wasn't very mature of me, but I really thought taking away Raphtalia's weapons would slow her down. Apparently not, because once again I turned my back and find that she's out making a mess somewhere.

One hundred and ninety eight, though. That was a lot. What creature could she have slain that was worth such an amount?

The carriage trundled along back to the academy uninterrupted, though no doubt the driver had heard my outburst. The scenery passing by the window was the forests and fields of Tristain, which were normally pleasant enough on their own, but did little to calm me at that moment.

"Something up?" The sword laying flat in the seat across from me asked.

Yes, the sword. With Raphtalia growing stronger, and apparently more violent, with each passing day I had no choice but to seek outside advice on how to keep her under control. In that regard it turned out that the only 'person' in the entire country who seemed to have some idea of her true nature was a talking sword!

"Raphtalia has killed something, again." I answered him.

"You know what it was?"

"Something large, but that's all I can tell." I sat back up and tapped a finger against my arm. "I just don't know what to do."

"Hn." The sword mulled it over for a moment. "Have you told her not to?"

"Oh, certainly." I looked to the bag of her weapons. "Well, maybe not directly, but after I took all her weapons away and ordered her to stay at the academy, I thought that would've been clear."

"Uh oh." Derflinger chuckled.

"...What is it?" I asked, concern rising with me.

"Well, it's possible she obeyed your orders to the letter, right? And found something to kill anyway."

It took a moment for me to figure out what he was hinting at, then I sat upright. "No… She couldn't have killed anyone there, could she?"

"Maybe, but I gotta be honest, lady, my memories of demi-humans are pretty foggy. I don't know how much advice I can really give."

"Well, you at least know what a demi-human is, so you're immediately a better reference point than anyone else I've encountered."

"Hnn." The sword was quiet for a moment. "Look, if you just want me for the company and wisdom, I don't mind so much, but let me just say this now: You might've bought me, doesn't mean you own me."

"I'm pretty sure that's exactly what that means."

"Well, from a strictly legal standpoint, sure." The sword conceded. "But I don't gotta say a damn thing to you if I don't want to, so if you want my advice you need to offer me something back, you hear?"

Unfortunately he was right, I realised after a moment's thought. There weren't so many ways I could punish a sword, were there? Maybe I could put grit in his sheath, or threaten to reforge him into a number of door hinges. Would those things even concern a sword?

"What do you want?" I asked cautiously after a moment.

"The only reason I put up with being in that shop was because I was looking for someone, and a decent number of people passed through it. If you want to use my knowledge, you gotta help me find the person I'm looking for."

That didn't sound too unreasonable, though it begged another question. "Who's the person?"

"...I dunno, actually. It's been so long I've forgotten him… or her?"

"Then how are you supposed to find them?"

"Ahhhh, I'll know 'em when I see 'em." He sounded flippant.

"You're thousands of years old, aren't you?" I frowned. "They're most likely dead."

"Eh, I just don't feel like they are."

That didn't sound very likely to me, but it really wasn't a lot to ask for. Effectively, what he was saying was as long as he felt like I was introducing him to enough new people, he'd be willing to let me use his knowledge, however limited it might be.

"Very well." I nodded. "In exchange for acting as my advisor, I'll help you with your goosechase."

The sword laughed. "Alright then, sounds good. Derflinger the Advisor, huh? I kinda like the ring of that." He paused for a moment. "Well, as your advisor let me give you your first piece of advice then."

"Go ahead."

"If you can't get your familiar to stop killing, maybe you gotta find things for her to kill?"

I blinked.

"There's monsters and all sorts of bad things all over the world. If she just wants to fight and grow stronger, and you can't stop her from doing that, shouldn't you just give her a target like, I dunno... Orcs or kobolds, or something dangerous that really does hurt folks?"

"...I had considered that, but wouldn't it be better to teach her simply to do no harm, than to try and limit the harm she does?"

"Hey, you could be right, little lady, but I'm a sword, right?" That much was obvious. "I was made to be used, specifically by the friend I'm searching for. Humans are kinda… you can choose what you wanna do, right? But dogs are always gonna sniff butts, you know? If demi humans are like I remember them, and you wanna make sure she doesn't hurt anyone innocent, then I got two real options for you."

"The first would be finding something useful for her to slay." I guessed, and breathed out slowly, stomach churning. "And the second would be to put her down, wouldn't it?"

"So you thought about that, too?"

"Of course I have." I swallowed, and turned to look back out the window. "If she's going to do harm to the innocent, then she needs to be stopped. As her summoner and master, I bear responsibility for her actions."

"Damn, that's cold." Derflinger laughed. "So, if the choice is between killing a kid, and finding some orcs for that kid to kill, I know which one I'd choose."

Put in that light, the choice seemed obvious.

My familiar really was hiding a lot of trouble behind such a sweet face. I almost wished I'd summoned something as Mundane as a mouse or a frog, though neither would've been as cute as raphtalia. And neither of them would have taught me magic, either. My fist clenched and my pulse raced despite myself. That was the part that really scared me.

Raphtalia offered me power. A lot of it. My entire life, my mother and father had always taught me there were no _shortcuts _worth taking. Hard Work would always be rewarded, and character always shines through.

It was the mantra I told myself on the days Kirche or Eleanore nearly reduced me to tears. I whispered it to myself, night after night, year after year as my efforts produced nothing but humiliation and collateral damage. Of course I believed. I had to.

In a way it even proved true.

After years of pathetic failure, achieving nothing but wasting my parents time and money, I _finally_ cast a spell successfully and summoned Raphtalia. It seemed like my dreams had at last borne fruit after so much painful toil. I could do it. I could make my mother proud of me.

Then Raphtalia gave me some rope and somehow I learned another spell in an instant… I was very excited at the time, but overtime I'd come to regard the event in a different light.

The church has always taught that demons never really appeared as demons, with goat hooves, red skin, and pitchforks. They were far more seductive than that, their seductive exterior hiding their true malicious intent. The only way you could tell a demon from an angel, was by what they directed you to do.

Elves were like that too. Beautiful on the outside, but utterly depraved on the inside.

Obviously Raphtalia wasn't a demon, at least I didn't think so, but that sweet face offered me exactly what I always wanted, and only asked for blood in return. How couldn't I be hesitant? I would receive power, and all I had to do was nothing. Simply let Raphtalia do as her nature dictated.

"I'll think about it." I promised Derflinger after a while.

* * *

**AN: Please let me know if you find any errors.**


	28. Chapter 28

Thanks to the wind dragon, I overtook Siesta's carriage on the way back to the academy, and arrived before she did despite leaving after her. Louise still hadn't returned from her trip to the Capital, so I took the time to get some food from the kitchens for me and Tabitha's dragon, whose name I needed to learn.

It was just an hour after I returned that Siesta was returned to the castle. She looked incredibly relieved as she stepped out of the carriage, and hugged the staff members that came out to greet her. I was happy to watch the reunion from a distance, but when Siesta spotted me she rushed over, smiling broadly.

At first I was worried that she was going to reveal to others what I'd done to help her. Instead she stopped before me, and reached her hand out to me. "Raphtalia, what would you like for lunch?"

I could see from the gratitude in her eyes this was her way of thanking me. "...White bread, with ham, lettuce, tomato and cheese." I answered after a while.  
"I'll be right back." She promised, before she disappeared inside.

The other servants seemed confused by her approaching me so suddenly, but they were soon returned to work by the chef.

The door to the servants quarters opened again, and Siesta came over with a plate and the food I asked for. She watched as I bit into the sandwich, before dusting off her backside and taking a seat in the grass next to me.

"It's good." I told her with a smile. And it really was good, even ifI might have been biased due to the Nostalgia it held for me. The first time I remember seeing Naofumi happy was when he ate one I made for him.

She sat beside me quietly for a moment, before she turned back to me. "Thank you." She whispered, her voice hitching up into a near sob. "I was shocked at the time, and I didn't thank you, but you saved me." Tears were welling up in her eyes, and she threw her arms around me. "Thank you so much."

I returned the hug. "You're very welcome."

"If ever need anything, anything at all-"

"I understand." I shushed her and rubbed her back.

"Please, please don't hesitate to ask." Siesta continued.

"I will, I will." I reassured her.

In the past I'd thought Naofumi's borderline extortion of the people he saved was taking things too far, but I did think that people who offered their gratitude deserved to see it appreciated.

She held me like that for a moment longer, before separating from me. "Anything." She repeated. In the corner of my eye, I could see the hand in her lap trembling.

Without saying anything, I grabbed her hand in mine and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Can you bring me another one of these tomorrow?"

"Mmhm." She wiped the water from underneath her eyes.

Siesta had been formally dismissed from her employment at the academy, so she wasn't required to do any work for the rest of the day. I could see the dark look in her eyes that made me suspect a lot of time alone by herself might not have been a good idea. To keep her mind busy I called over Flame, and started showing her how to make him to tricks.

Dogs were good like that.

Er, Salamanders too at any rate.

That reminded me. "Be sure to say thanks to Tabitha's wind dragon as well." I told Siesta, and waved the dragon over to give its nose a scratch.

"You mean Sylphid?" Siesta asked.

"Is that your name?" I turned back to the dragon, and continued to stroke her. "That's a very pretty name, are you a girl dragon?" An offended puff of breath in my face was the only answer I got. "Of course you're a girl dragon, you're so beautiful. Look at those sapphire scales and eyes." Then I turned to Siesta. "Without Sylphid's help, there was no way I would have arrived in time."

A look of comprehension came over her face, and she curtsied to the dragon. "Thank you, Sylphid."

I continued. "I'm sure Sylphid would also love a little something extra to snack on form the kitchen's, if you can manage it. Try asking Tabitha what might be appropriate?"

Siesta nodded in agreement. "Of course." She smiled, before nervously reaching out to pat Sylphid as well.

At that time, a carriage entered through the gates, and I recognised Louise's pink hair through the window long before I saw her face. She appeared to be conversing with someone, though I couldn't see who.

"My master's back." I said to Siesta.

"Are you going to tell her about what happened?" She asked, fearfully.

I thought about it, then shook my head. "I used a slave mark to force him to return you to the Academy. If people found out, you might be returned to his house." I looked to her, before indicating the dragon and the salamander. "Let's just keep it between us four."

"Raphtalia!" Louise called out, and I turned to see her approaching me from across the courtyard. Strangely, she had a large, sheathed two handed sword in her hands. It took me a moment to recognise it as the talking one from that shop the other day.

I ran over to Louise, only for the smile to disappear from my face when I saw her serious expression. "Is something wrong?"

Rather than answer, Louise glanced about, before taking my hand and leading me towards the tower. I waved goodbye over my shoulder to Siesta who watched on with concern as I was taken away.

Louise didn't say anything as we climbed the stairs. When we came to the room, she immediately locked the door and closed the window, before rolling up some sheets and stuffing them in the door crack. She even stood on her chair to find the hole in the rafters that Chuchu had used to sneak into the room, which she stuffed a bundled up shirt into. I watched as she took these precautions, growing nervous.

She couldn't have known about the count, could she? It should have just appeared as XP to her.

After making certain we wouldn't be listened in on, she sat at the end of her bed and gave me a considering look. "Did you have anything for me today?"

I raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"To unlock more powers for me." She clarified.

"No." I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"Sylphid ate everything." I answered smoothly.

"You were out hunting with Tabitha's dragon?"

"Yes." That part wasn't even a lie.

"Alright." She accepted the excuse with a nod. "What did you slay?"

"A bear."

"There's bears around here?" Louise sounded disbelieving.

"...Sylphid flies fast. We were really far from the academy."

Her eyebrow was raised in disbelief, but she nodded after a moment. She gathered her thoughts, before continuing. "Raphtalia, when I took your weapons with me this morning, that was because I didn't want you to go hunting."

"..." Now I was looking at the floor.  
"You're smart enough to realise that, aren't you?"

I nodded.  
"But you did it anyway?"

"..."

"Answer me." She pressed.

"Yes."

She breathed out through her nose. "If I give you the order to stop hunting, will you obey it?"

"We'll both get stronger." I promised her. "There are lots of monsters-"

"That's not what I asked, Raphtalia." Her voice was stern. "Are you refusing to stop hunting?"

I looked down to the floor, and nodded. "I don't like being a child."

"...What do you mean by that?"

"...Before you summoned me, I was fully leveled." I looked up at her, pleadingly. "I was even famous in my home country. For some reason, when you summoned me, my level was reset to one and I became a child again." I stepped forward and reached for her hand. "Please, I don't want to stay like this."

She blinked in shock, but didn't pull away when I took her hand. "Right now you're a child, and it's very dangerous. Honestly, the whole idea seems very dubious to me."

"Please." I lowered my head. "Imagine if you were made a decade younger one day, and almost all your powers were taken away." A sense of helplessness washed over me. "Please, you summoned me here. You can't trap me like this."

"I didn't mean to summon you." She sounded defensive. "I had no way of knowing you would be selected as my familiar."

"Hold on a second there, lady." A gruff, yet nasal voice filled the room. It took me a moment to recognise it as the talking swords. "What you're saying there is it was an accident, right?" Without waiting for her answer it continued. "If you mess up and ruin something, doesn't that mean you gotta help fix it? Or at least replace it?"

"...You're right." Louise conceded. "In a way I have crippled you, haven't I?" She looked at me consideringly.

"I… I didn't think of it like that?" I tried to reassure her.

"That doesn't make it an inept comparison, though." She grumbled and blew out a sigh, rubbing at her face. "In a way, stopping you from hunting would be unfair, wouldn't it?"

I kept silent.

"..." She thought about it for a long moment. "Fine. Tomorrow we will go hunting."

Relief washed over me. "Really?

"Yes. _Together_." She emphasized the word carefully. "And I have the final say on what we do or don't target."

* * *

**AN: There was some concern last chapter over the amount of XP Louise got being smaller than Raphtalia's. That wasn't a mistake. Reading the light novel reminded me that Naofumi actually got a reduced share of raphtalia and Filo's XP, so he actually levels slower than either of them. I was actually in error in the previous chapters where Louise got equivalent XP from Raphtalia's kills.**


	29. Chapter 29

What exactly are you supposed to wear when you go hunting? That was the question I asked myself as I stared at my wardrobe that morning. It seemed the decision was made for me at any rate. I didn't think I had anything appropriate at all, just my academy uniform and a few sets of casual clothes. I ended up choosing a riding outfit with a divided skirt so I could run. For a moment I considered taking a riding crop with me, if only to complete the outfit, but it seemed silly to run around with it if we weren't going horse riding.

Raphtalia seemed fine in her maid like uniform, anyway, though it seemed like I'd need to replace it soon. She was almost my height, now! Surely other students had to have noticed.

"How old are you, really?" I asked her, thinking back on the conversation we had last night. "You mentioned you were max leveled in your home country, but how many years are you?"

"..." She paused in thought. "Around fourteen, I would say."

I couldn't help but notice the shape of her bust, stretching her clothes. When did those get there? "Fourteen." I repeated, dubious.

"Honestly, it was hard to keep count." Her expression became melancholic. "It could easily be less than that."

"...And you're sure levelling up won't help me grow?"

She shook her head apologetically. "That's a trait exclusive to demihumans."

Great. I suppose it could be worse. At least I wasn't as small as Tabitha, though my mood wasn't improved by the look of sympathy she gave me.

"My family is very tall you know." I pointed out to her as we left the room and made our way to breakfast together.

"I'm sure they are." She reassured me, but I could tell she didn't believe me.

"I'm glad I have your confidence." I narrowed my eyes at her. "My mother is six feet tall, and she was a late bloomer much like myself."

"Of course." Once again, Raphtalia refused to make eye contact.

It would not do for a lady of my stature to pout, so I maintained a carefully neutral face, and reprimanded her. "You'll see. You will _all_ see."

* * *

The sun had only just risen as we crossed the school grounds, and apart from the castle servants we were alone. One of the maids from the kitchen had been warned of our plans ahead of time, and we were served our hearty breakfast early while the hall was still empty. The black haired maid even had enough foresight to provide us a packed lunch of bread and cheese with some apples and a wineskin full of water. It was a substantial serving too, though I had no doubt Raphtalia would finish it all in one sitting.

After we finished, Raphtalia led us across the courtyard towards Sylphid.

I cleared my throat. "Actually, we should hold off on using Tabitha's dragon."

"But we won't be able to go as far?" There was no need to look so disappointed.

"Well, perhaps we can ride her another time, but it would be rude to commandeer her familiar for a mere day trip without at least asking her first."

For some reason, she looked me up and down, and looked nervous for a moment.

"What's wrong?"

"Um… Will you able to walk that far?"

I hesitated only briefly before answering. "I'm sure I will. I've rode horses for a similar amount of time, and you and I have a similar height and build."

"...If you're sure." She conceded after a moment. "But if you get too tired we can always turn around."

With that, we set out from the castle together, and I soon regretted my words. Of course I should have realised how hot a still Summer's day could be, and after hours of traveling through the sunlight I'd taken to using my hat to fan myself. My feet were hurting, and I wasn't sure if it was because I was quite week or I didn't have any appropriate shoes. My shirt was becoming quite damp too, and I was glad there were no men around or I would be quite embarrassed.

Raphtalia had led us South across the plains that surrounded the school, her eyes constantly scanning the ground and horizon. Despite her appearance she seemed quite proficient.

Eventually after hours of walking we came to a river running through a shallow valley, and Raphtalia decided we should take a break.

"How do you feel?" She asked me with obvious concern.

"Fine." Obviously I couldn't say to her that I was ready to return home. It would be quite embarrassing to come home completely empty handed. I could scarcely imagine what Zerbst might say if she found out.

"We can stay here until you're ready to continue." Raphtalia led me to a shady spot beneath some rocks, and began to help take my shoes off. "If you need to cool down, try washing your feet in the stream."

It seemed good advice to me, and I found myself soon relaxing as we waited by the stream. Raphtalia took out an apple and ate it, core and all, though she spat out the seeds into the water.

It wasn't long until I began to grow bored, but I wasn't quite ready to continue. Something Raphtalia had said in our last conversation had made me curious, and now seemed like as good of a time as any to talk about it.

"Yesterday." I began, and her ears perked up cutely. Would she really grow up so soon? I quite liked her when she was smaller. "You mentioned that you were famous in your home country."

A ghost of a shadow crossed her face before she looked away. "Yes. I was a very accomplished adventurer."

"You said that, but were there any things you were particularly famous for?"

"...Yes, I played a large role in putting an end to what were known as the Waves of Destruction."

'Waves of Destruction?' That sounded quite ominous. "What were they?"

"The waves were a repeated occurance where a portal would open up at a random location and monsters would spill out to kill all they encountered indiscriminately." Raphtalia replied.

"Oh, dear." That sounded quite frightening. "What was causing them?"

"It's… complicated." She breathed out and seemed to consider saying more. "I take it you haven't had any here?"

"Not that I know of, though a lot of our history has been lost."

"Well, it's not really important unless they start happening here."

It was clearly something she didn't particularly want to talk about. We weren't in a hurry to go anywhere, and there was something else I was curious about, so I changed the topic. "Well, if it's not too personal, would you like to tell me about that tattoo on your chest?"

Immediately, I regretted asking. If before I'd seen a hint of pain on her face, now I was seeing a very obvious look of heartbreak. "Oh, you don't have to talk about it if it troubles you."

She was silent for a moment before speaking again. "It wasn't originally a tattoo. It was an enchantment, and it was painted on." Her voice was wistful, and nostalgic. "That enchantment was eventually broken. Later I had the tattoo made to try and prove… something." It was a strange thing to hear from someone who looked as though they were only thirteen or fourteen years old.

After that we fell into silence. Raphtalia was lost in her memories, and I was worried about asking about more than she was willing to tell me. We stayed like that for another few minutes until Raphtalia's ears flickered suddenly, and she looked upstream.

"Ooh." She sounded pleased, standing up and drawing her sword.

"What is it?" I asked, hurrying to pull my socks back on, before reaching for my shoes.

"I'm not entirely sure." She admitted. "But if it's good prey we won't have to go as far as I expected for your first hunt."

My first reaction was to be relieved I wouldn't have to walk much further, but then I realised we could be going into battle soon, and my mouth dried out. Quietly, the two of us made our way up stream together, until we came close enough that even I could hear what was making the noise.

"Giant toads." Raphtalia smiled at the sound of thunderously loud croaks. "Perfect."

**AN: I don't like putting these at the front of a chapter, so I'll try to make it quick. When I started writing this, it was mostly intended as an exercise to practice writing a lot of content quickly. That's why I was uploading a chapter a day, basically just to see if I could. It turns out I can write very quickly if I want to, but it's hard to keep that up for a long time.**

**Because it was just a writing exercise the story has a silly cover art, name, and description. I wasn't taking it very seriously. But then it blew up in a way none of my other stories have, so now I have to put a little more thought into things.**

**So here goes: That time of one chapter a day is basically never coming back, but I will try for one chapter every few days. I'm also going to try to come up with a coherent plot for this that will be quite different from the events of Hero and Zero.**

**Hope you enjoy.**


	30. Chapter 30

We were both lying on our bellies, shoulder to shoulder. Crawling forwards carefully, we came to the crest of the ridge and peered over it to see two of our prey, wallowing in a muddy of shoot of the stream.

"We really were lucky to bump into something like giant toads this close to the academy."

Louise gave me a dubious look, as though she didn't quite believe me.

Pretending not to notice I continued. "They're large, and can be fairly tough. Also, despite not having teeth the muscles in their mouths can easily crush a grown man if his levels aren't high enough."

"That sounds awful."

"Ah, that's just the bad part. The good news is they don't really have a way to defend themselves, and they're not that fast either. As long as we take them by surprise, it's pretty much free XP."

"If you say so." Louise still sounded disbelieving.

"Do you know any good offensive spells?" I asked her.

"...I know many spells."

"Okay, here's the plan." I tapped her on the shoulder to let her know we were moving, and we turned and crawled backwards down the ridge. "I'll sneak in close and target one, and you hit the other with a good spell."

When I glanced at her, I noticed Louise was looking conflicted, like she wanted to say something but wasn't sure if she should.

"Is something wrong?"

"N-nothing."

"I know they're gross, and you definitely don't want to get their slime on you." She grimaced. "But you'll be safe up here on the ridge, so don't worry about it."

"...Okay." She breathed out and nodded.

I gave her my most reassuring smile, before raising my hands up and beginning my magic chant. When I finished the light washed through me and over me, and Louise gasped as I fully disappeared. She looked about for me, and flinched when I spoke up.

"Don't worry, I'm just invisible."

"Wow." She breathed out.

It really wasn't that impressive. As far as light magic went it was actually incredibly basic. "I'll reappear when I make my first attack. Ready your spell for that."

"O-okay."

Trusting her to handle it, I made my way down the ridge to where the toads were comfortably settled in their mud. On a hot day like this, a good mud hole like this would be a big relief to them. For them, this must be the equivalent of having a nice nap in the shade. That said, it wasn't like a felt particularly empathetic to these creatures. I still had strong memories of cleaning the children of their slime when we reconstructed the village.

Shuddering at my recollection of the smell, I slowly came closer to them and crouched low. Standing so close to its large body, I could hear its rumbling breath and see tiny brown bubbles forming with every exhale. It's mottled brown and grey skin was lumpy and covered in wart like lesions.

They really were gross.

Glancing up towards the ridge, I saw Louise's pink head peeking out over the ridge. Huh. I hadn't realised she stood out so much compared to the grass. With hair like that she was clearly highlighted against the plains around us.

When I looked back to the toads, I realised that both of them had their eyes open, and were looking directly at her. For the moment they weren't doing anything, though. Then, I noticed one of the toads slowly adjusting it's position. Using it's toes, it was dragging itself around slowly until it was looking uphill towards Louise, who didn't seem to realise she'd been spotted.

My fingers wrapped around the hilt of my sword, as I pondered their behaviour. Was the reason they hadn't done something earlier been just the fact that there were two of us?

Suddenly it's lips parted, and a long glistening tongue shot out, covering the distance between the creature and Louise in a split second.

Oh.

They weren't toads. They were frogs.

"Heeeeeelp!" Louise shrieked as she was suddenly yanked through the air and right into the creature's waiting gullet.

* * *

"Well, we got a good amount of XP from that at least. Just three or four more of these frogs, and we should level up again."

Across from me, and half poking out of the mouth of a dead frog, Louise glared, hair clinging to her face in gooey clumps of saliva.

"I know it might not seem like it now, but it's much better to be caught in a frog's mouth than a toads. I would know from personal experience."

Rather than answer me, she reached up and ran a hand over her mouth to clear away some of the slime, though a sticky residue remained. "Pardon me." She murmured in a subdued voice before spitting something out and grimacing at the after taste.

"...I'm sure we'll be able to wash the worst of it off in the river and we can dry our clothes in the sun as well." I tried to reassure her. "Though, admittedly the smell can be very hard to get rid of."

"Raphtalia."

"Yes?"

"Be quiet."

Obediently, I closed my mouth and stood to the side awkwardly.

She struggled for a moment, trying to pull herself free, but the goop and muscles of the dead frog's mouth had a pretty good grip on her, and it was hard for her to find any good purchase within arms reach. For a good twenty seconds, she grunted and strained without much effort, as the frog's blood began to attract flies under the warm summer sun. They smelled quite bad already, and we definitely wouldn't want to be close by when they really began to rot so we had better begin harvesting their materials sooner rather than later.

In the interests of time, I reached out a hand to Louise without saying anything. After giving me another glare she accepted my hand, and I began to pull. The ground was slippery with mud, and I had to really dig my heels in to finally get her out, though when I did so she splashed face first into the muck.

I bit my lip and looked away, guiltily. "Why don't you go sit somewhere dry, and I'll begin harvesting the materials?"

Louise climbed to her feet with a squelch, pausing only to shoot me another angry look that I pretended not to notice before trudging off to the ridge to sulk. Not that I could blame her. That was just about the worst introduction to adventuring that I could imagine…

After that I took my time to collect all the different pieces of frog I could, bringing various components to Louise like eyeballs, intestines, strips of skin and frogs legs. I pointed out to her that those last ones could actually taste pretty good and might make a nice meals for us if we wanted to take the time, but I received no response. I went to the effort of wrapping up the legs in some cheese cloth and weighing them down in the fast moving water upstream to stay cool. Slowly but surely I fed pieces of the creatures into Louise's waiting palm, and she stayed silent all the while.

I was curious why her body seemed to be acting like some kind of sacred weapon, or maybe a vassal weapon. During my travels with Naofumi I had encountered all kinds of living weapons, including things you might not expect to be considered weapons like a ship or a fishing rod, and even a book, but I'd never heard of someone _being_ a living weapon. When she was in a better mood I should ask Louise about it and explain what I knew, which was a lot more than most people would, given my extensive experience with them.

Afterwards there was nothing left of the frogs that her body would accept, I was careful to drag their bodies away from the river and to the dry field above, if only so some poor farmer down stream wouldn't discover his water source blighted one morning.

"Let's get you cleaned up now." I took Louise by the hand and led her upstream, before helping her strip off her clothes and climb into the river. "I'm sorry that it's cold, but it's better than smelling poorly." I tried to smile at her, but she was still pouting and refused to make eye contact. Of course I didn't say aloud, but I thought that compared to some of Naofumi's darker moods when he was moping, Louise was behaving quite cutely. "Let's start with your hair."

Unfortunately, without any scented oils I wasn't able to clean her hair to a nice luster, but with my hairbrush I was able to get the worst of the frog fluids out and restore her long pink locks to a respectable state. After that I gently worked washed the rest of her body with a soft cloth, and by the time I was done she once again looked like a pretty young lady.

She found a warm rock to rest on and dry out in the sun, while I scrubbed our clothes clean with sand. Sadly there was only so much I could do without suds, but soon both our clothes were laid flat on the river bank, while I set about preparing lunch. It may have been simple fair, but Louise didn't complain about flame roasted frog legs, sliced thin on a serving of toasted bread with cheese. After preparing her serving I tucked into my larger share and found it quite satisfying. It was surprisingly flavoursome with the pinch of spices Siesta had left in a small bag for us. Really, it was quite thoughtful of her.

Now clean and with a full stomach, Louise looked to be in a much better mood. Perhaps she was ready to speak to me at last?

"So, I was thinking we could ford the stream and search for more frogs nearby?" I suggested, glancing over to find her gaping at me with disbelief. "They tend to prefer still waters, so there must be a decent pond nearby with more of them."

Her eye twitched, and she leaned back before folding her arms across her lap with forced calm. "Raphtalia."

"Yes?"

"We're going home."

"Are you sure? I'm sure we won't have to walk as far to-"

"We're going _home._" She said more firmly.

"...Okay."

And thus ended Louise's first adventure.

**AN: So I went over my recent reviews for the story, from before I started writing again, and most of it was just people howling for an update. Not that I mind, but I can't help but feel that I wrote and began uploading another perfectly good story in the meantime. Is it unpopular simply because no one's seen Ore Twi? That's what I would assume at least. So in the interests of shilling my own story, I would just like to point out there exists an anime called "Ore Twintail Ni Narimasu" and that it's pretty funny.**

**Also, I'm really pleased by the reviewers who notice the little details I put in here and there. Even though I was writing this mostly as an exercise in quantity on my end, I was careful to try and keep things consistent, and a lot of you noticed those little continuity things, as well as hints at the lore and why Raphtalia was alone at the start. Rest assured that I read every review, but I don't always reply because usually I don't think I have much of interest to say.**


	31. Chapter 31

She tried to hide it, but it was obvious that Raphtalia was disappointed by our adventure being cut short. She walked ahead of me for our trip back to the Academy, occasionally glancing back at me as if hoping I would change my mind, but quickly facing forwards again whenever I made eye contact. However she felt about the situation, I was the one eaten by the frog today. For her such things might be part of a normal day of adventuring, but to me it was an all new experience that I was unwilling to relive any time soon.

Still, I could imagine her disappointment. Maybe the best thing would be to allow her to go on her hunting trips alone from now on, as long as I made it clear she wasn't to harm any person or any creature belonging to a person. The soles of my feet were aching dully by the time we arrived back at the academy. Though I wasn't out of shape I wasn't very used to walking great distances either, but Raphtalia seemed as energetic as ever.

We arrived back just a few hours after lunch time, in the middle of the afternoon lessons, so fortunately there was no one around to see me in my current state. Without any delay, I got a change of clothes for me and Raphtalia and took us straight to the baths. It might seem excessive to bathe twice in one day, but I could still smell frog slime when I raised my arm to my face. After all, the hygienic properties of a cold river were a far cry from those of soap and scented oils.

I immediately went to soak in the water, while Raphtalia observed herself in front of a mirror for a while. She was behaving quite oddly, touching her chest and hips, even leaning in close to look at the pores of her face. I was quite embarrassed to see her raising an arm to check her armpits, before unwrapping the towel from her waist to look at her crotch.

"For the Founder's sake, what are you doing?"  
In the mirror I saw her face turned red with embarrassment, and she hastily rewrapped her towel about her. "Just… checking for growth."

Ah. I had done similar things as well, though never in such a public place. "Did you just forget that I was here?"  
She didn't answer, just blushing and looking away bashfully.

"Well, don't stand around. I can smell the frog on you from here."

"You were the one who got slimed, not me." She mumbled as she came over and sank into the water.

"What was that?" I demanded, though I had heard her clearly.

"Nothing." She sank into the water so only her eyes were above the surface.

I heaved out a sigh, and thought better than to press her further. "What's wrong with just growing up at a normal pace, anyway? You said you were quite young anyway."

"...If you could grow a foot taller tomorrow, would you?" Raphtalia demanded.

_Absolutely. _Without a second's hesitation. "Th-That's besides the point."

"Besides. For a demihuman this _is_ a normal pace."

Well there wasn't much room for me to disagree with that. "You must come from a very violent world."

A familiar, sad looking smile touched her lips. "Naofumi said that a lot, too."

That caught my attention. "Was he from a world different to yours?"

"Yes. He rarely talked about it." She sighed. "But speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask you about some things."

I had to suppress a sigh. After a strenuous day I had been hoping to enjoy this in peace, at least until my feet stopped aching. However, Raphtalia wanted to talk to me about things she considered important, and it didn't strike me as prudent to turn her away given her reticence in the past. She obviously has a lot of strong feelings tied up with this Naofumi character. "Well, everyone else should be in classes for another hour, so we shouldn't be interrupted."

"Alright, so you didn't know what the waves of destruction were, did you?" Raphtalia waded deeper into the water, paddling gently about. She looked like nothing so much as a child splashing about, though I doubt she would appreciate the comparison. My mother would have stopped me from behaving like that, but at the same time I must admit the sight was quite charming.

I really was far too soft hearted. "No. Before you mentioned them I had never heard of such a thing." Reaching out, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards me. "Sit still, I'll scrub your back."

"Okay." She hummed, and settled to sit in front of me while I worked a lather over her skin. "So no one in this world has ever needed to summon the Sacred Weapons from another world, either, right?"

"I certainly haven't heard of such a thing. Until I summoned you I hadn't even heard of other worlds, and to be honest I still suspect your story about that."

"Hmm… I can understand that, I guess. If I just suddenly met someone who claimed to be from another world I'd want to see some proof, too, but then you're going to have to find an explanation for why you're now leveling up if you seriously doubt me."

"So far I'm just seeing numbers go up." Louise pointed out. "If it wasn't for that new spell I wouldn't believe it at all."

"Spell?" Raphtalia looked over her shoulder towards me. "You mean Air Vortex?"

"It's the only new one I've learned so far."

She shook her head and looked forwards. "That's not a spell, or at least it shouldn't be."

"Isn't it?" Louise brought up her HUD in the way Raphtalia had shown her, by reaching out to touch the little icon in the corner of her vision. When she scrolled through the menu, she found the entry for new abilities, and their among it was Air Vortex Spell. "In the title it says spell."

"Hm…" Raphtalia frowned. "What's the casting cost?"

Louise squinted at it. "Thirty MP and ten SP."

"Ah, that makes sense." Raphtalia nodded her head with satisfaction. "It's actually a hybrid, then. That's a combination of a spell and a hero technique, if it takes SP to cast. That's a little weird. Must be unique to you, and whatever kind of hero you are."

"I suspect your translation spell just made a mistake. You used the word 'hero' very strangely, just now."

"I see I'm going to have to go right to the start, then." Raphtalia sighed. "In my world, hero means something different than it does here. In my homeworld, the word hero refers to the users of one of the Legendary Weapons, of which there are four Sacred Weapons and seven Vassal Weapons."

"So then why are you calling me a hero? Unless you think Derflinger is one of those special weapons?"

"There's no doubt he's special, I've never met a talking sword before, but I don't think he's a legendary weapon." Raphtalia shook her head. "What makes a legendary weapon special is that it can absorb components from the world around it to grow stronger, like you do. Given that your magic is using both MP and SP in it's casting, I think your mana affinity itself must have become the Legendary Weapon somehow."

This all sounded very strange to me. "By mana do you mean willpower?"

"That's what you call it in this world?"

"We really might not be talking about equivalent things at all." I sighed. "But I don't think it's reasonable to call magic a weapon. It can be _used_ as a weapon, but it's also used for many other things."

Raphtalia shook her head. "I've seen some very strange weapons, Louise. If I hadn't seen it myself, I wouldn't have considered a book to be a weapon, but it was very real and very dangerous. The only strange thing about your affinity being a weapon is where it's located."

Well, it would have been nice to know what my affinity is in the first place.

She continued. "Every weapon has a unique way of powering up, and if you learn them from other legendary heroes in your world you can make your weapon even more powerful. If you take the time to go through the help menu in your HUD, you should find out what your weapon's power up method is."

"I don't think my world has any other legendary weapons, and that's assuming I even have one." I was curious though, and searched through the menu for what she mentioned. The Help Menu she mentioned had previously been an untranslated mess of incomprehensible gibberish, and some words of it were still unclear to me. From what I understood though, by accomplishing certain tasks I could unlock various 'titles' for myself, each of which carried their own benefits and powers. Some of the titles were revealed, like Junior Hunter, which I would receive for killing ten creatures. Apparently there were secret titles which I could only unlock by bumbling into their tasks somehow.

"I don't think that's true." Raphtalia's voice caught my attention, and I looked across at her. "If one Legendary Weapon exists, others have to be out there somewhere even if you hadn't heard of them."

"I'm quite sure I would have heard of such a thing." I huffed. "And if I hadn't my mother definitely would have."

"If you're sure." Raphtalia sounded like she disagreed with me, but didn't want to say it. "My skin is getting all pruney, anyway. I'm getting out."

"I'll stay in a while longer." I let her go and leaned back against the edge of the bath. "I think I still smell _froggy._"

**AN: Exposition dump, ho! But this chapter should serve to introduce those of you who ain't familiar with Vassal Weapons because they ain't been explained in the anime of Shield Bro, yet.**


	32. Chapter 32

After I finished with my bath I headed up to my room to find Raphtalia missing. The only one there was Derflinger, who I had left leaning against a wall.

"Did you see Raphtalia?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Little tyke scampered off to find more of those, uh, 'Louise soluble Materials.'" Of course he laughed at his own joke. "I thought that was a good one."

I summoned a polite smile. "Quaint."

"Here's another one." He continued. "What's the difference between you and a pig?"

"One of us smells and lives in a sty?" I answered, not quite cross yet, but pushed in that direction.

"Yeah, but at least the pig has some things he won't eat!"

"It's hardly the same thing as me eating it!" I snapped back.

"But you still know exactly what frog slime tastes like!" Again Derflinger laughed uproariously. I found the sound to be _particularly_ grating.

I threw the sword under the bed and began to change into a fresh school uniform.

"Awww, it's just a little ribbing." Derflinger's muffled voice still cut across the room with it's irritatingly nasal tones. "I just want to help you stay humble!"

He was still calling things out to me as I slammed the door shut, and set off to find Raphtalia. It didn't take long. The girl was just out in the courtyard, playing with Flame again. The moment she saw me she waved me over with one hand, while the other continued to run along Flame's belly.

"Louise! Come here!"

I approached, partly amused by the cute sight of a young child giving a belly rub to an affectionate animal, but also worried about the lumpy outlines I could see in her pockets.

The moment I came into range, Raphtalia grabbed my palm and dropped something into it. I just barely caught a glimpse of something white, before it disappeared and a notification appeared in my vision.

DRAGON MAW _ERROR_ I UNLOCKED.

+1 TO ARMOUR.

+1 TO TOTAL HP.

"Sylphid dropped a fang." Raphtalia smiled up at me.

My stomach plummeted. I crouched down, and grabbed her arm, pulling her close as I hissed. "You can't take that! That was a valuable alchemical ingredient, and it belonged to Tabitha."

"Oh." Her face dropped at the realisation. "I should have thought of that."

It seemed like she was being sincere. As far as I could tell, her guilt was genuine. Rather than lecture her we might be able to get away with a simple confession and an apology. "What else have you got?" I asked with a worried sigh.

She bit her lip, before taking out what looked like a mixture of red and blue scales, as well as a couple of my alchemy vials filled with a clear fluid. There was nothing as worrisome or obviously valuable as the tooth, but still.

"Raphtalia, I'm sure Kirche and Tabitha won't begrudge you a handful scales and some slobber, but you absolutely should have asked first."

"I'm sorry." She murmured, looking at the ground.

"Don't apologise to me, I wasn't the one wronged." I grabbed her chin and tilted her head up so she was looking me in the eyes. "Now go say that to Tabitha, and then ask her and Kirche if they don't mind you collecting those."

"Okay." She nodded glumly, and somehow _I was the one who felt bad! _I hadn't even done anything wrong...

"I'm sure they'll understand it was honest mistake." I tried to reassure her. "And besides, I have plenty of ingredients in my alchemy kit that I'm sure will be good as materials, and I can always buy more."

"Okay." She agreed, but I could see that I wasn't cheering her up.

I bit my lip for a moment, before deciding to just move along. "Run along and apologise, then come straight up to the room. We'll go through my potion materials together."

"Yes, Master." She trudged away across the courtyard, and I sighed, shaking my head. Really, she was such a handful.

Maybe I owed Éléanore a little more credit. Perhaps some of her harshness towards me was well earned. This was harder than I thought it would be…

"And we're not even related." I grumbled under my breath climbing back up the stairs to the bedroom.

Derflinger started hollering again once I stepped inside, and I took him out from under the bed, if only to stop the racket. He pouted in the corner muttering to himself about a lack of respect, while I took the time to read the help menu Raphtalia had pointed out to me in the bathtub.

Unfortunately, a lot of was still untranslated and 'PENDING LANGUAGE SAMPLE.' The most irritating thing was it didn't even explain what kind of hero I was. According to what I read I was still an '_ERROR'_ mage for the foreseeable future.

How did I speed up this stupid translation process? From between the non Tristainian parts of the menu, the most I could figure out was that simply having conversations was how the enchantment collected its sample of languages.

I pursed my lips, as I wasn't the most social person, generally. My peers at the academy and I had at best what I would call a cooly distant relationship. Short of starting an argument, I didn't foresee myself initiating much interaction with them.

There was a knock at the door and I dismissed the menu, before standing to answer Raphtalia. "Really, there's no need to knock. You can just come in-" I swung the door open to find myself face to face with _Von Zerbst_. Well, face to face _after_ I looked up, but still.

"Well, if you insist." She smirked and stepped past me into the room.

"You're not who I was expecting." I glared at her.

"I'm sorry." Raphtalia's small voice came from behind me and I glanced across to find her standing outside the room. Apparently her small frame had been hidden behind Kirche's fat bulk.

"Having your familiar steal alchemy ingredients?" The cow tutted. "Really Louse, that's very out of character."

Raphtalia began to look very despondent. "I'm sorry."

"Zerbst, Raphtalia made an honest mistake." I defended her. "You know this was not my intention."

"Ah, but a noble is responsible for the familiar actions, aren't they? They're an extension of their master's will after all." Kirche smirked at me, obviously enjoying this. "So surely at the very least you can admit that _you_ made a mistake, and it cost Tabitha a dragon fang."

It was hard to fault her logic. I clenched and unclenched my jaw before I replied. "Yes, well, if Tabitha wants compensation then that is between me and her."

"That's true." Kirche conceded. "But I was also wronged separately to that, wasn't I? Even if my possessions were returned to me, that didn't give you the right to take them."

She had me there, but… "It was not Raphtalia's intention to steal anything."

"Please, Louise didn't ask me to take the scales for her!" There was a note of desperation in Raphtalia's voice, and she was ashen faced. "I did it without thinking."

"Aww, I believe you." Kirche cooed, walking over and stooping down to cup Raphtalia's cheek. "I know you didn't mean anything bad, but…" She glanced over her shoulder at me, smirking. "A small amount of restitution is required, isn't it?"

"...A small degree, yes." I consented. "What did you want, Zerbst?"

"Well for starters, you could stand to be a little more polite to me." That smirk on her leathery face was frustrating me to no end.

"You're right, _Kirche_." I would like to tell her to go stuff it, but just because she was an immoral hussy, that didn't give me an excuse to behave without honor. "So what did you want from me?"

"I just wanted to know where you went today." She stood up to her full height, before walking into the room and taking a seat in my chair. "It's not like you to skip class. For what little good they've done you, you've been very diligent to attned them all this time."

The insinuation about my history burned, and I found my temper growing short. I breathed out through my nose, before saying through grit teeth. "I went hunting with Raphtalia."

That caught the sow by surprise. "Really? You didn't strike me as the sort."

"She came because I asked her to." Raphtalia answered, and I tried to signal for her to be quiet by chopping my hand across the air in front of me with the palm down, but she continued without noticing. "To help me get stronger."

"'Stronger?'" Kirche repeated, confused.

"Yes, she's not human, you know." I quickly interrupted. Maybe I could distract Kirche from discovering my, er, 'Heroic Affinity,' with just part of the truth. "She has a number of interesting properties. Haven't you noticed how much taller she's gotten?"  
Kirche turned her head to look at my familiar more closely before a smile crossed her lips. "Now that you point it out… Raphtalia, you actually look somewhat lovely."

Raphtalia blushed at the compliment, her tail wagging behind her.

"You're looking quite mature, especially compared to Louise." Kirche continued, shooting me an amused look.

I took a moment to compose myself, and was quite proud of my self control. "Well, if that's all?"

"Is your eye okay?" Kirche feigned concern. "It looks like it's twitching."

"It's fine!" I answered, in a perfectly _normal tone of voice_, though I have no idea why Raphtalia flinched at the sound. I coughed to clear my throat, and spoke again. "If that's all?" I pointedly held the door open.

"When are you next going hunting?" Kirche asked as she stood up.

Before I could tell her it was none of her business, Raphtalia perked up. In a cheerful voice she said, "Would you like to come?"

"No!" I barked, and at the same time Kirche smiled. "Why I would love to."

**AN: I think Louise is better composed in this than I recall her being in canon. She's similar emotionally, just better at holding it back. I wonder what the explanation for that could be?**


	33. Chapter 33

The gag they used wasn't clean, so it tasted of sweat and food stains. It was either the first piece of cloth they had on hand, or they chose it out of spite. I suspected it was made of cheap wool from the feeling of it. Desperately, I tried to chew through it, and I found it to be pliable between my teeth.

I would have ripped it from my mouth, but to either side of me were guards, holding my arms in place at my side. In addition, wrists were tied together with strong cord that rubbed them painfully as I twisted and squirmed to break free.

"Stop." One of the guards grunted, gripping me more tightly, and all I could do was glare back at him.

I was standing amid the audience to a duel, looking down from above as Master Naofumi squared off against the Spear Hero, Motoyasu. I'd met the blonde earlier before the wave, and all I knew was that Naofumi didn't like him. Now I understood why. I very nearly hated the man, too.

And the King who arranged this horrible duel.

The Spear 'Hero' stood there, self righteously spinning his spear and pointing it at a man who couldn't even really fight back. He mouthed some line of condemnation at Naofumi, and shouted an empty promise at me before charging him. There was a clang and a clash of sparks each time the spear and shield clashed, and through the gag I cried out in fear when the spear head bit into Master Naofumi, drawing blood.

A dark smirk crossed over Naofumi's face as he pulled a balloon out from under his coat and pressed the snapping ball of teeth into Motoyasu's arm. The fool cried out in pain as Naofumi took out more of his secret weapons and they attached themselves to the Spear Hero one by one. Before Motoyasu could pop the balloon's, Master Naofumi used a skill and the blonde hero was trapped inside a cage with the little monsters.

He was winning! Somehow Master Naofumi had found a way, even against another hero!

Out of the corner of my eye, I glanced across and saw that woman, that redhead who was a member of Motoyasu's party chanting something and clutching a glowing gem. She was going to cast a spell! The last threads of the gag in my mouth came loose, and I spat them free.

"Naofumi! She's casting a spell!" I screamed as loudly as I could, before a guard cursed and shoved his gauntleted fingers into my mouth. My teeth hurt as I bit as hard as I could, but there was little I could do to chew through steel.

Below, Naofumi just barely brought up his shield in time to block the spell, dispersing the worst of the magic around him. He only just had time to glare hatefully at the women, before returning his attention to Motayasu and using a new ability to keep him trapped. He would swap between Air Strike Shield and Shield Cage to keep his enemy down, and slowly Motayasu's grunts of pain became screams as blood started to leak out from between the overlapping plates of the spells.

"Yield!" Naofumi demanded.

Apparently Motayasu didn't hear him, as he only kept struggling inside. Another minute passed, and even the sound of that stopped.

Naofumi hesitated for a moment, before dispersing his abilities. The entire audience drew in a gasp of horror, at the sight of the Spear Hero, his face and skin torn, exposing muscle and bone. His eyes were missing, the soft jelly chewed out by a hungry balloon. The once handsome twitched, exhaling and moaning as he did, frothy blood bubbles dripping down his face.

For a moment even Naofumi looked stunned, before guards and priests shouldered their way past him to save Motayasu's life. The guards quickly dispatched the balloons, and the priests desperately applied healing magic.

As I watched, the look of horror on Naofumi's face transformed to one of grim acceptance. After a moment of lingering, he turned and walked out of the arena, and up to the furious looking king. They both stared each other down for a long moment, before Naofumi spoke.

"I won your rigged duel." His gaze turned away, to find me to the side, just behind the king.

"You…" The King growled, hatefully.

Naofumi's eyes were cold. "Give me back _my slave._"

* * *

I woke up with a jolt, disoriented to suddenly find myself in a soft bed, surrounded by warm sheets. My breathing was rapid and my heart was pounding, and I realised I wasn't alone. Louise was sitting beside me, softly rubbing my arm and murmuring in my ears.

"Sh-sh-sh… It's okay. You're safe." Louise whispered, before yawning and rubbing at her sleep swollen eye.

Another night terror, I realised. There were tears running down my cheeks, and I rubbed at them self consciously. "S-sorry to wake you up."

"It's okay." Louse grumbled. "Just stand up and let's check your mattress."

I blushed at that, and checked beneath me. It was relieving to discover the mattress was dry.

"That's good." Louise smiled softly. "Do you want to go back to sleep? We have another hunting trip tomorrow, so you need your rest."

Right, with Kirche and Flame. "I-I'm worried I'll wake you up again."

A look came over Louise's face as she searched for a solution. "Alright then, come with me." She took me by the hand and stood up, leading me to her bed. "Whenever I had a nightmare, Cattleya would do this for me."

"I-I can't." I resisted as she tugged at me insistently. "What if I hit you in my sleep?"

"You won't do that." Louise promised, before yawning again, though I had no idea how she could be so confident. "Just lay down."

Feeling guilty and not wanting to keep her awake much longer, I relented and she dragged me to the mattress alongside her. It was squishier than I was used to, and Louise reached across to pull me into a one armed hug. I lay there, feeling her body warmth against my back, slightly uncomfortable.

"A-are you sure this is okay?"

"It's fine." Louise mumbled into the pillow, her eyes screwed shut. "Jus… stay warm…" Her head tilted forward, and she was instantly back to sleep.

I lay there like that for a moment, before closing my eyes and trying to follow her example. Really, it felt wrong to inconvenience her in such a way. But if she was okay with this…

Once again I resolved to level up faster, so she wouldn't need to indulge me like this in the future.

In just a few minutes I was asleep, too, and I slept soundly until morning.

**AN: Backstory chapter! Here we see the original point of divergence between this fanfic's timeline and Shield Bro's.**


	34. Chapter 34

I woke up that morning and was surprised to find Raphtalia in my bed, her back to me, and one of my arms wrapped around her waist. It took me a moment to remember her whimpering from the night before, and I breathed out a sigh, before disentangling myself to stand up.

"Wake up, Raphtalia." I reached across to give her a shake. "It's time to get dressed."

To her credit she was always quick to rise, helping brush my hair and put on my clothes, even as she yawned and blinked the sleep out of her eyes while doing so. It was only once we were both dressed that I discovered she was almost the same height as me. The crest of her forehead was just a finger or two below mine.

"H-how tall were you back in your homeworld?" I asked, keeping my head straight and making it clear through my tone that I was only asking out of idle curiosity.

For some reason she looked at me with amusement. "Why does it matter?"

"It doesn't!" I don't know why she looked at me like that, it was a perfectly reasonable thing to ask.

"Hmm…" She hummed, looking ahead as we came down the stairs to the dining hall. "I think I would be as tall as Kirche."

_Great._ The last thing I needed was someone else lording their size over me, just because they happened to have a hand span over me. Or two. "Well, hopefully you won't be as fat as she is."

Raphtalia gave me a disapproving look. "You shouldn't talk about your friends like that."

"Since when has she been my friend?" I asked pointedly.

"With an attitude like that, she won't be for long." Raphtalia returned.

"She never was my friend, so that's fine by me."

She just shook her head in disapproval, and fell silent.

Speaking of the fat sow, she made me and Raphtalia wait for her after we finished our breakfast. Typical really. No doubt she slept in after spending an exhausting night with whichever man of low character she chose to bat her lashes at. I didn't even want her to come on our adventure, but after Raphtalia invited her for our outing, Kirche insisted and ignored any protest I made.

Really, we should just leave now and she could catch up to us whenever she did. It was a weekend anyway, I'm sure she had other things to do. There were plenty of boys in the academy for her to sleep with if she was bored. Why did she have to come along? If I got swallowed by another bloody frog I'd never hear the end of it.

"Oh, there she is." Raphtalia smiled happily and waved as the redhead appeared, accompanied by Tabitha as usual.

"Good morning, Raphtalia." Kirche smiled at her, before turning to me. "I invited Tabitha along, I hope you don't mind."

I scowled. "I mind her less than I mind you."

"Oh?" Kirche smirked. "So you do think about me."

"Hardly!"

Without a word, Tabitha took her seat and ate her small portion quietly, while, unsurprisingly given her body weight, Kirche loudly enjoyed a hearty meal. It took far too long in my view. Kirche spent as much time pestering the three of us at the table as she did actually eating. After we finally finished breakfast and were ready to go, we made our way to the stable to collect the horses I'd had the stable masters set aside for us after getting back yesterday. I hadn't known Kirche or Tabitha would be coming, so there were only two of them, but Raphtalia didn't know how to ride a horse anyway, so it would be easy just to have her double up with me. Apparently in her homeworld, usage of large flightless birds called a filolials was more common than horses, but that sounded quite strange to me.

"Surely it would be easier to find grass to feed a horse than carry scraps to feed a bird." I pointed out.

"True, but filolials can hunt and scavenge just fine on their own." Raphtalia answered as we rode away from the academy, following her directions. "Besides, dangerous monsters were a lot more common in Melromarc, so having a filolial that can fight and help protect you was strongly preferable for a lot of merchants. Plus they can scare off dragons."

"Dragons?" I repeated in disbelief, before looking up to where Tabitha was circling overhead. "I can't imagine Sylphid being frightened of a large bird."

"Well, not all dragons are that big, most of them are only the size of their non-dragon parent." Raphtalia answered. "Only the pure breeds get to that size, we called them emperors."

"What do you mean non-dragon parents?" Kirche called from her horse. Up ahead, Flame was snuffling about at the trail ahead, his tail wagging back and forth excitedly. Apparently we were headed in the right direction for some sort of creature.

"Well, dragons are kind of gross." Raphtalia grimaced. "A dragon emperor could breed with almost anything, and produce a hybrid that would be loyal to it. They would set up their horde and just start reproducing with the local wildlife, eventually just taking over the whole ecosystem."

"Really?" Kirche looked disbelieving. "Even with a horse?" She squinted up at Sylphid.

"Mmhm, even with a person."

"I better keep an eye on Tabitha." Kirche mumbled.

"I think Sylphid is a female, so maybe watch out for Flame instead."

I grimaced at the mental image that produced in my mind. "He would need a stepladder."

For some reason Kirche burst out laughing at that. Personally, I didn't see what was so funny. When she saw my expression, she had the nerve to try and chide me. "Don't be so sour, Louise."

"Don't be so overly familiar, Kirche!" I shot back.

Shaking her head, Kirche looked back to Raphtalia. "So you're really from another world, then? How do you find ours by comparison? How can you tell you're in another world, and not just another part of your world?"

"Well, this isn't my first time traveling between worlds." Raphtalia answered. "And you can tell because each world has their own different rules that govern its magic, things like how the loot system works or people's abilities when they level up. Also, I'm always sent back to level one when I arrive on a new world, so that was a little bit of a give away."

"What do you mean by 'level up'?" Kirche asked.

"On most worlds -not all of them, but most- people level up by defeating monsters and people to gain XP. With enough XP they can level up to grow stronger."

"Could I level up like that?" Kirche asked, suddenly interested.

"Um… I think almost everyone in your world is level capped at level one for some reason." Raphtalia answered, biting her lip with thought. "I think it might have something to do with a lack of mana? That would explain why monsters exist, but there's so few of them…" She perked up, and reached forward to tug at my shirt. "Have you added Kirche to the party, yet?"

"No." I muttered.

"Don't be rude." Raphtalia chided. "Sharing XP is only polite."

"If she's capped at level one why does it matter?" I pointed out.

"Louise…" Raphtalia looked at me disapprovingly. "Don't be selfish."

"I'm not selfish!" I pointed out quite reasonably.

"Good, then it should be no problem sharing your XP."

Kirche watched the discussion with an amused look on her face. "Oh, be a good sport Louise. I'm curious to see what this invitation looks like."

I breathed out a sigh, before glancing up at Tabitha and Sylphid circling overhead. "I might as well invite them, too."

"Don't forget Flame." Raphtalia added.

In the menu, it wasn't hard to find the section for party, and I could select anyone within range to invite. Tabitha and Sylphid were just out of reach, so I would add them when they landed. I highlighted Flame's name and Kirche, before pressing the button that said, 'Send party invite.'

Instantly, a bolt of black lightning shot out and struck Kirche dead in the chest. She immediately grew pale and slumped in her saddle, falling off her horse.

"Kirche!" I shouted, turning the horse around just as second bolt flew from and struck Flame. The beast we were riding panicked, and I found myself nearly thrown from the saddle as it reared back, but I was able to grip the reigns to hang on. Behind me, Raphtalia wasn't as fast and crashed to the earth with a grunt of pain. I clung to the horse for dear life as it bucked and squealed in panic.

At the same time there was a loud whoosh of air that even I noticed, in my current state, as Sylphid landed between us and Kirche. Atop the dragon's back, Tabitha glared down at us and began chanting a spell.

"Tabitha, what are you-?"

"Windwall!" She cried, and a large pane of air came to form a barrier between us. "Stay back!" She barked at us, preparing another spell.

* * *

**AN: Cliffhanger!**


	35. Chapter 35

The fall knocked the wind out of me, but I didn't have time to recover. Louise's horse was panicking, and she was clinging to it for dear life, and in the meantime Tabitha was readying another spell of some kind. When you've been in enough fights and taken enough heavy blows, you learned to ignore certain instinctive reactions and just keep going. A bad blow can make it feel like there's no air in your lungs, when really they're full. You'll try to breath in, when really you need to breath out.

The air escaped me in a painful groan as I climbed to my feet, before I turned to face Tabitha and Sylphid. The dragon looked confused, it's head turning back to look at its master, and crooning with uncertainty.

"Tabitha, what are you doing?" I shouted, my straying towards my sword hilt. "Kirche needs help, she's hurt!"

I wasn't lying either. Kirche was convulsing on the ground with her head and neck pressed downwards at a painful angle. If something wasn't done to change her position she could really hurt herself. Whatever spell Tabitha was about to cast died on her lips, the air gathering at the tip of her wand fading away. She hesitated, casting a glance at me through her wind wall, and saying to Sylphid. "Watch her." Then she slid off the dragon's back and came to her friend's side. She crouched down, and carefully laid Kirche's head flat against the ground, before clearing away the nearby stones and twigs.

"Is she okay?" I asked.

"..." Tabitha looked up at me, eyes narrowing behind her glasses. "Why did you attack her?"

I guess from above that was what that must have looked like, wasn't it? All Tabitha or Sylphid could see was a line of black lightning jumping from me and Louise to strike Kirche and Flame. I should have remembered that was what happened when Louise forced me to join her party. Something about the mana from my world was reacting poorly with the local mana.

"It was a mistake on my part!" I quickly explained. "It was an accident, Louise was hit by it too the day I was summoned."

Her face was hard to read, and her voice neutral, but somehow I felt she didn't believe me. "And Mott?"

Uh oh. I tried to figure out how she could have known about that, and my eyes strayed over to Sylphid. Right, I should have known. Emperor dragon's could talk and understand human speech, but I just assumed because she'd never spoken to me that Sylphid just didn't know the language. It seems I was wrong.

"Sylphid, I thought we were friends!"

The dragon crooned apologetically, and lowered her head shamefully.

"You should be embarrassed!" I put my hands on my hips.

"Raphtalia!" Louise yelled. "Raphtalia, help!"

I looked over my shoulder to see her still struggling with the horse, clinging for dear life as it bucked and kicked, trying to throw her off. "What are y- argh!" She cut off, crying out in pain as she bit her tongue and I winced with sympathy.

"Uh, I need to handle this." I said to Tabitha. "I promise we weren't trying to hurt Kirche, and please don't say anything to Louise!"

Tabitha just blinked owlishly at me, before I ran off.

There wasn't that much I could do to help Louise in her predicament. I went to grab the reins, but the horse shied away from me when I tried to get close. In the end all I did was shout encouragement while Louise clung for dear life. Eventually the horse exhausted itself and gave up, and a wobbly kneed Louise's climbed off its back to sit at the base of a tree so she could regather her composure.

"Thath's… thath's firsth thime I'be eber broke a horshe." She grimaced and spat a gobbet of blood into her handkerchief.

I hummed with interest. "Well you did a very good job of it. Did you see how leveling up helped you, though?" I reached and squeezed her bicep. "You're a lot stronger now. Do you think you would have been able to pull that off with these thin little arms before?"

She gave me a considering look, before shaking her head.

"And you're not even close to the level cap." Not to mention that as a hero she could level up indefinitely, going way beyond level one hundred, but I didn't want to burden her with too much information. I smiled, before standing back up. "I know it's not been fun for you so far, but you've made a lot of progress. Try challenging one of the boys to an arm wrestle when you get back to school. You'll probably be surprised."

With the Louise situation sorted, I ran back to check on the others. The redhead was still convulsing on the ground, but with her head cradled in Tabitha's lap the worst of the danger should have passed. It was a little hard to read her expressions, but Tabitha looked distressed to me at the state of her friend.

"She should be okay." I promised her. "Louise was affected the same way at first, but she got better after a few hours."

Tabitha looked up at me from where she was kneeling, but didn't say anything.

"...So about Mott." I glanced over my shoulder at Louise, who was sitting out of ear shot. I leaned forward, and said lowly. "What did you plan to do?"

Tabitha just frowned at me, before her gaze turned past me to look at Louise. "She doesn't know." It was a statement and a question.

"Yeah, I was hoping you would keep it a secret from her."

"A familiar's actions are the same as their master's." She replied without answering.

I glanced across at Sylphid. "Does that mean you delivered me to the Count's manner?"

Tabitha flinched at that.

"That's the logical follow through, isn't it? If you're saying Louise is responsible for me killing the count, that makes you the getaway driver."

She stared up at me, the edges of her lips pulled down into a _very _faint scowl.

"I think it would be best for all if this stays between us."

It was hard to read her expression, and she didn't say anything after that. The stoic type, which was difficult because I needed her to agree with me. I glanced over my shoulder, and noticed that Louise had stood up and was slowly coming over to join us.  
"Do you agree to keep quiet?" I asked Tabitha.

She didn't answer, just looking up at me neutrally, her fingers wrapped tightly around her staff.

_Great. _"...Well, why don't I just give you a little time to think it over." I brought up my menu and found the section for party invites, and sent one to Tabitha, and one to Sylphid. Instantly black lightning struck them both and they collapsed.

"Raphtalia!" Louise burst out. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm just being polite!" I called back to her, separating the now convulsing Tabitha from the still convulsing Kirche.

"_This is not what politeness looks like!_" She came over and helped me restrain Tabitha. "What kind of barbarian world are you from where this is at all acceptable?!"

All I could do was try to act innocently confused. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Sylphid and Flame struggling and couldn't help but feel sorry for them especially. "Sorry, guys." I murmured to my fellow familiars.


	36. Chapter 36

Raphtalia and I spent most of the rest of the day taking care of my two classmates and their familiars, which I found quite disappointing. To think, a petite girl like me could ride a horse to exhaustion! There were many men much larger than myself who couldn't do such a thing, but here I did it on my first ever attempt! Just think how much stronger I could get simply by going hunting with Raphtalia. Unfortunately, instead of accomplishing what we actually set out to do that day, I spent all morning and well into the afternoon taking care of Kirche.

Ugh.

"Why did you insist on inviting them?" I demanded of Raphtalia, not for the first time.

At this point she'd given up trying to answer me and just rolled her eyes. I thought it was quite ironic for her to be so rude to me given how often she lectured me about being more polite.

Finally Kirche began to stir. I was the one taking care of the Germanian at Raphtalia's insistence, while she kept an eye on Tabitha. We were both sitting with their heads in our laps to stop them hurting themselves by moving their head and neck, an embarrassing position if ever there was one. When her eyes fluttered open, Kirche stared up at me in confusion, before smirking and fluttering her lashes.

"Louise? I was having a lovely dream with you in it, but then I woke up and realised it wasn't a dream at all."

"You're a foul creature, Zerbst. Get off me"

Laughing, she went to stand up only to wobble, and I instinctively caught her when it seemed we should fall. "Louise, you were rough so with me that I can hardly stand."

"Then don't stand." I snapped back and stepped away from her.

Raphtalia's chiding voice rang out. "Louise, you should be more gentle with your friends."

Kirche's smirk only became more unbearable. "Yes, Louise, please be more gentle with me."

"Shut it, Zerbst!" Then I rounded on Raphtalia, who was giving me a disapproving look. "And I thought we were supposed to be hunting today! Because of your insistence we add them to the party we've wasted our entire morning."

"Funny how eager you are now you've seen the results." Raphtalia pointed out, wryly.

"Honestly, Zero, I'm not sure how much hunting you would really be able to do without us." Kirche pointed out. "You're hardly the most proficient mage."

I grimaced at that, while Raphtalia made a curious expression. "No one asked you, Zerbst!"

"What was that spell?" Kirche stretched her arms behind her head, putting emphasis on her chest which I definitely didn't stare at, just… It was hard not to notice with how bloated they were. "You were struck down by something similar at the summoning ritual."

"It seems to be a side effect of mana from my world interacting with mana from your world." Raphtalia answered. "Or maybe it's just because of mana from inside me interacting with mana from inside you?" Her eyebrows came together with thought. "I don't know, I've never seen anything like it, but it seems to have removed your level cap, Kirche."

"My what?" Kirche sounded as confused as I felt.

"Basically, from what I can see you should be like me and Louise now, able to get stronger by defeating monsters." Raphtalia looked down to her lap where she was cradling Tabitha's head. "And Tabitha should be the same when she wakes up.'

"What about Flame?"

"The same, uncapped."

"Hmmm…" Kirche got a considering look on her face. "Tabitha and I should go on a few independant hunts of our own now that we have the chance."

Did this mean Kirche was a hero, too? I wanted to ask Raphtalia, but I didn't want to do it in front of the Germanian. It was bad enough that a member of a house that was in rivalry to my own had the same potential to grow like I did.

"I should be clear, you and your are familiars still capped, just at level one hundred rather than level one." Raphtalia continued to explain. Then she looked back down at Tabitha. "Kirche, you're quite muddy, and so are you Louise."

"Only because I had to look after her." I glared at Kirche, who just winked at me. Disgusting.

"Why don't you two head back to the castle first, and I can ride back with Tabitha and Sylphid when she wakes up."

"But we were going to go hunting!" I pointed out, reasonably.

Kirche snickered at me for some reason.

"I don't think we can go today, with how much time has passed." Raphtalia looked up at the sun. "Besides, remember how sore you were after a few hours with muscle spasms? Kirche, do you really feel up to a long horse ride right now?"

"Not really." Kirche answered with a grimace, massaging her bicep.

"You two should start to head back, and I'll stay here to look after Tabitha and Sylphid." She looked back up to me. "Don't pout, Louise, we can go another day."

"I'm not pouting!" I folded my arms angrily. "And I don't see why we have to leave."

"You don't have to, but just imagine what your classmates would say if they saw you with mud on your backside."

"Oh, no, is there?" I tried to look behind me, but I couldn't really see any.

"Only a little, but enough to be embarrassing."

"I'm a little worried about Tabitha, though." Kirche replied, looking at her small friend with worry.

"Don't worry, I'll look after her." Raphtalia smiled at her. "And I'd really feel better if you and Flame were there to keep Louise safe on the way back."

"I don't need her to keep me safe!" I pointed out quite reasonably, as that insufferable Germanian smirked.

"I see, well in that case, I would be overjoyed to see the princess safely home." That fat cow changed tune the second she had a chance to mock me.

I'd had more than enough of this. With a huff, I climbed into the saddle of the horse I'd broken.

"Come, my lady." Kirche bowed towards me, one hand at her waist in a twisted attempt to act like a knight.

"Sod off, Zerbst!" I gave the horse a kick and moved further away from her, and with a laugh she hurried to follow, chasing me back to the castle. I felt a little guilty about leaving my familiar alone like that, but she'd proven more than capable in the past.

We were just approaching the castle gates when a notification popped up.

31 XP!

Well at least I got _something_ out of today.

**AN: Sorry about that folks, some kind of issue with the doc manager. Should be good now.**

**Man this story is getting slow. I think I gotta speed things up soon before it gets too boring.**


	37. Chapter 37

It was really striking just how small Tabitha was, even compared to Louise. Once we were alone, I took the time to search her body over, and found a wand concealed on the small of her back, along with a dagger hidden in her boot. Not the sort of thing I'd expect to find on the person of a daughter from a noble family. Curiosity piqued, I checked her over a little more thoroughly, and found a surprising number of what were obviously battle scars. It was curious, but none of my business.

After putting her clothes back on I briefly considered binding her arms and legs with cord, but then noticed Sylphid in the corner of my eye. The dragon might attack me if it though its master was in serious danger, and I didn't want that. Not only was Sylphid a friend, I doubted Louise would accept any explanation for any serious injuries to the familiar or Tabitha. Indeed, from what I'd learned thanks to me being a familiar, Louise might even be culpable for any harm I did to them.

Yeah, it would be in everyone's best interest if I was just able to talk to Tabitha and convince her to see things my way. If worse came to worst, the slave curse was always an option…

She came around slowly, and pretended to still be asleep after she did. She was trying to squint at me through her eyelashes without her glasses. With her thrashing about thrashing about so much, I thought it best to take them so they weren't accidentally broken. While pretending to be asleep, she tried to get her other hand behind her back to find her hidden wand.

"Uh, no need for that." I told her, and held her weapons up for her to see. "I uh, found that one already."

Her eyes opened fully now, but she was still squinting at me so I offered her glasses back, and wordlessly she took them. Her face was normally very neutral, and even now I couldn't quite read her.

"You want these back?" I offered them to her. "Just hear me out before casting anything again. I really don't think there's any good reason for us to fight."

She didn't say anything at all, but technically I did attack her and I was willing to bet that was where her mind went. Also, I did kill Mott.

Actually, I better just try a different tact... "So… Kirche is your friend, and you probably don't want anything bad to happen to her."

Her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yeah, I feel the same way about my friends. Listen, Louise had no idea where I was and what I was doing when I… dealt with Mott. If what you say is true in that mages are held responsible for a familiar's actions, if you tell anyone she'll be punished. Do you guys do hanging here? Or is it like my world where the nobility gets the guillotine?"

She stared at me for a long moment. "Why Mott?"

"I'm sure you've heard his reputation. He was going to do horrible things to a servant I met here, another friend of mine." I could tell her that I tried to spare him, but I doubt she'd believe me or be interested. "That's it. I'm not going to threaten you or your friends, or anything like that, but if you come after me other people are going to get hurt, you'll even implicate yourself through Sylphid."

For just a second, Tabitha's eyes darted to the right and down, before looking back up to my face.

"So how about instead of that, I help you." I smiled at her. "If you keep coming hunting with me, Louise, Kirche, Flame and Sylphid we're all going to get a _lot_ stronger."

There was a pause as she considered my offer. "How?"

"Come with me and I can demonstrate." I looked over to Sylphid who was watching us warily. "Actually, with Sylphid's help this should be even easier."

The dragon might not have had enough strength to carry too many people, but it was certainly able to take off with just me and Tabitha who were both quite small. Through the thin tree cover we were able to spot a wild boar snuffling through the undergrowth.

"There's one!" To be heard over the wind I had to shout very loudly. I was just thinking about the best way to deal with the creature when Tabitha suddenly started chanting a spell.

The helpless boar squealed as it was lifted into the air by a whirlwind. Tabitha shifted slightly in her saddle, and without a word said to her, Sylphid began to dive. The flailing hooves of the boar did nothing to dissuade the dragon, who swooped in and plucked the best from the air with its talons. I couldn't see exactly what happened over the back of the dragon, but for a moment it's screams intensified and then stopped, as an XP notification popped up into view.

Shortly after Sylphid brought us into land, and without waiting began to devour the carcass.

"Uh, I can get some of that?!" I called out to her, but she ignored me. "Just some of the bones, or maybe the hooves? I'm sure the tusks would work, too." Tabitha didn't offer any help either, and when I approached the bloody mess the dragon growled at me. "Alright, alright."

I guess there'd be no material for Louise this time around…

While Sylphid enjoyed her feast I went to talk to Tabitha.

"You should be level two now, the distance between level one and two is tiny." Tabitha wasn't a hero, so she couldn't very easily check her stats without an appraisal spell or the help of an hourglass, but she should have seen the XP notification and her level rising. "Enough XP raises your level, and by raising your level enough you can become many times stronger than you naturally would be."

She stared at me, and I got the impression she didn't quite believe me.  
"I promise it's not an illusion I cast." I thought for a moment. "But if you like, we can go hunting for the rest of the afternoon, and see if we can't level you up a few more times. You will notice the difference when we get back, I promise."

After a moment she nodded.

Once Sylphid was done I collected what scaps I could for Louise, which didn't amount to much other than some hair and cracked bones. Really, was it too much to ask for a tusk? I'm not even sure why the dragon would want to eat hooves.

By the time the sun had set, Sylphid was feeling quite full and my sack of materials for Louise was full of all kinds of red scraps. Just because I didn't want to come back completely empty handed I collected some leaves and a few stones from a river. Naofumi had used such materials, but they weren't very good shields if I recalled. Still, the small stat boost that came with them should amount to _something_ at least.

I'd managed to climb a level, which meants Louis should have as well, while Tabitha and Sylphid were getting close to level five. It's amazing how much more quickly you can travel with a dragon, hunting was so much more convenient.

Just like that, things calmed down between me and Tabitha. She never promised me she'd stay silent, but I doubt she would be inclined to blab on us, especially after I spotted her experimentally lifting up a chair before breakfast, counting how long she could hold it up for. Louise in particular seemed thrilled by her new found strength, bending a spoon at breakfast one morning by pressing against it with her thumb and pretending it was an accident. Really, she was such a simple girl.

Soon enough a week had passed in relative peace. It wasn't possible for Louise, Tabitha or Kirche to always hunt with us, but the three of us familiars were going out every day. Apparently XP could travel across the familiar bonds regardless of distance, which made it quite a powerful ritual. The only problem was our XP gains became less and less efficient as time went on. The monsters we were fighting just didn't have the strength to challenge us, and the distances between our level ups were only getting further and further apart. It wasn't too bad though.

By level twenty I was back in my adult form again and able to wear my old adventuring clothes. For some reason Louise glared at me when I tried them on, then insisted she wasn't angry at all when I asked her about it.

It would have been nice if the peaceful days like these could have lasted...


	38. Chapter 38

Over the course of just one week my familiar became tall and beautiful. This obviously wasn't a problem. After all, it's not like there was anything inherently wrong with her doing so. It wasn't a _crime_ per say. I myself am due a large growth spurt any day now, so it would be ridiculous of me to get upset at her for something I would soon do myself.

Utterly ridiculous.

I'm not upset.

_At all._

But, it was hardly some kind of achievement, either. After all there was only a full head's difference between us. That was nothing at all. It would be incredibly petty of me to be upset just because she happened to tower over me. I was a good master, after all. My family pedigree was impeccable, and my education second to none. There were many things I had that Raphtalia didn't, so why should I be upset about a mere handspan or two?

"I don't need you _looming _over me." I told her very reasonably and patiently. "Stand back a little, you don't need to be at my shoulder."

For some reason Raphtalia looked faintly annoyed as she stepped away and pouted, quite childishly. That wasn't such a strange thing to ask, was it? It was a warm day after all. I didn't need to be crowded.

Speaking of crowds, a certain large breasted and shameless woman was standing on my other side, and she was smirking in quite an ugly manner. "Do you need me to stand back too, Louise? I imagine a little creature like you must have felt quite intimidated standing in between us." I gritted my teeth at the grating sound of her chuckle."Why, compared to the two of us you really do look like a very young child." She raised an arm, causing her fat bosom to wobble, and held her hand over my head as if measuring my height.

"The thought never even occurred to me." I told her with _perfect _honesty. "Only a small minded _barbarian _would pay so much attention to something so trivial. Now go away. You're making me far too warm." I went to dig my elbow into her abdomen, but she ducked away with a laugh.

Ever since our familiars began hunting together, Kirche had seen fit to _inflict_ her presence upon me, like an unwelcome tick. She even waited to greet us at our door on a few mornings, like this one. I had no clue why. Just because Raphtalia seemed to get along with Flame, that didn't mean either of us should have to associate with that slovenly degenerate.

"Oh, look." Kirche pointed as we emerged into the hall for breakfast. "Tabitha saved seat for us."

I don't believe that she did. I doubt the small circle of available chairs around the tiny bluehead were there because she reserved them for us. Rather, it seemed to me that the hall was mostly empty, and people didn't usually want to sit next to someone so unsociable when there were other choices available.

"Well, why don't you go and enjoy breakfast with her, then while Raphtalia and I-"

I was interrupted by a pair of hands being placed on my shoulders, and I was steered quite forcefully towards Tabitha. With Raphtalia at one shoulder and Kirche at the other, I was quite helpless to resist, so for the sake of my dignity I didn't. It wouldn't do to be dragged kicking and screaming across the hall, after all.

"Really, there's no need to man handle me." I tugged my way free of them before sitting. "Especially you Raphtalia. That's no way to treat someone."

She just smiled at me, no doubt very pleased with herself. Now that she had finished growing, she was eating normal meal portions and would have managed to look quite refined while doing so, if it wasn't for her outlandish outfit. At some point we were going to have to visit the capital again to get better clothes tailored for her, but for the meantime she'd been borrowing small clothes from Kirche to get by and walking about dressed like she expected to enter a fight at any moment.

Across from us a pair of boys were whispering to each other and ogling Raphtalia. It was obvious why. Even if her chest wasn't quite as large as Kirche, Raphtalia was still quite a beauty. Also, unlike Kirche, she didn't have the reputation of being a squealing sow. She looked and behaved quite maidenly, which combined with her exotic origins to make all the boys start drooling over her. Especially the first years, like those two.

One of them got up approached us, doing his best to swagger handsomely, despite the fact he was a good few fingers shorter than her.

"Good morning, ladies." He smiled at us, but it was obvious his attention was on Raphtalia. "I was just wondering if you had anyone to accompany you to the Familiar Exhibition?"

Raphtalia opened her mouth to answer, but I prevented her by reaching over to hold her forearm.

"Yes, she does." I glared at him. "Now go away."

He wandered away, shooting dark looks at me while he did.

"That was mean." Raphtalia began to scold me, but I would have none of it.

"Men are all wolves, Raphtalia."

Kirche snorted at that for some reason.

"What's so funny?" I demanded.

"As if you would know anything about men." Kirche smirked at me.

"Yes, well not all of us should be quite as _experienced_ as you, Zerbst, and I should say that's a good thing." I turned back to Raphtalia. "Besides, you're not even thirteen. It's far too soon for you to be thinking of boys."

Raphtalia looked pouty. "I would be considered an adult in my own world, you know."

"Well, that's there and this is here." I pointed out quite reasonably. "And no one will ever want to marry you if you're reputation is bad." I tilted my head towards Kirche.

"You think so poorly of me, don't you?" Kirche shook her head sadly.

"That's because you behave poorly. Remember, Raphtalia, ill deeds speak of an ill character."

She frowned at me. "Ill deeds like speaking so cruelly about your only friend?"

"Hm? Who?" I saw her eyes move to Kirche, then back to me. "What made you think that we're friends?"

"She seems to be the only person here who chooses to spend time with you, despite your sharp tongue." What kind of strange argument was that? "Maybe if you were nicer to others you might have more friends among your classmates."

"That has nothing to do with why we're not friends." I glowered.

"It has at least _something_ to do with it." Kirche contradicted me, and I glared at her.

"Why else would they choose to ignore you?" Raphtalia pressed. "You know you have a very soft side. If more people got to see how caring you can be then they would-"

"The reason I treat them harshly is because they started it!" I realised I'd been raising my voice to her and lowered it. "You've heard them call me Zero, haven't you? Did you think that was a compliment? It was because I-" I stopped, closing my mouth and looking away. There was no way I could tell Raphtalia about my failure, not when she looked up to me so often. "Just… I think I want to eat by myself."

I gathered my dishes and moved to an empty seat a table away. Though it wasn't ladylike, I ate in a hurry and left almost right away.

Sulking? I would never do that. We just happened to not have classes that day, and I enjoyed the view from the top of the Void Tower. It wasn't like I needed to be there for the familiar exhibition. Raphtalia was perfectly capable of casting some kind of illusion without my direction.

I enjoyed the peace for a moment as the wind tousled my hair. The lush green fields of Tristain rolled around me in every direction, bordered by mountains in the far distance to the north and forests in the east. The charming scenery and refreshing breeze helped me to calm, and I soon realised I'd grown unfairly emotional when addressing Raphtalia.

Whatever Kirche claimed, I'd done nothing to deserve the treatment I'd received from her. For years since I first arrived here she'd taunted me at every opportunity, even taking time out of her schedule to single me out and bully me, both alone and as part of a crowd. Maybe if she was willing to apologise and do my best to treat her politely, but there was no way I'd make such considerations for such a repulsive brute. Whatever my lack of talent in magic might be, that was no excuse for her to treat me so cruelly in our first year.

The Familiar Exhibition played out below me, and I remained atop the tower, uninterested. There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs behind me, and I looked over my shoulder to see my familiar approaching.

"Ah, there you are." She smiled with relief when she saw me. "Siesta said she saw you climb the Void Tower, but I had no idea which ones that was, so I've had to climb three of them." I noticed that she didn't seem to be breathing much harder, despite all that. She joined me in looking over the edge and grumbled. "Why does an academy need so many towers?"

"There's one for each magic attribute." I explained after a moment. "And then there's the academy itself."

Raphtalia blinked at me in confusion. "...But there's only five towers."

"Yes. One for each attribute."

"There's a lot more than just five attributes when it comes to magic." Raphtalia shook her head.

Oh, this was another one of her foreign world things. "You said mana was different in your world, didn't you? There may be many in your world, but here there is only fire, air, earth, water, and void."

LANGUAGE SAMPLE COLLECTING COMPLETE.

…

TRANSLATION COMPLETE.

A little notification popped up into view, informing me that my Heroic Weapon was satisfied it understood Tristanian now. Maybe now it could at last tell me what an '_error'_ mage was? With a wave of my fingers the menu appeared in my view.

LOUISE FRANÇOISE LE BLANC DE LA VALLIÈRE

LVL 21

HERO OF THE VOID

"…Brimr's balls."

* * *

**AN: **Updates will hopefully be picking up in speed in the near future.


	39. Chapter 39

I knew Louise didn't appreciate it, but I was worried about her. I remember Naofumi's persecution complex, and the paranoid depths to which he believed everyone was out to get him. To a certain extent he was right, almost the entire Kingdom of Melromarc was against him at one point, but to not trust anyone was a miserable way to live. Despite my best efforts he had never fully trusted me. He kept me at arms distance once my slave seal was undone, giving me missions and things to do, but never including me in his planning, and never confiding his feelings in me.

Louise didn't have things quite that bad, but I believed I was seeing similar symptoms. "What did she mean by 'they started it'?" I turned and asked Kirche after Louise had left.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Oh, that? I mean, I suppose it's true in her eyes, but not quite fair to the others."

"What do you mean?"

"I suppose I will have to tell you, then. Though she has been trying to hide it from you."

"Hiding what?"

Kirche leaned across and spoke in a low voice, like she was saying something very rude that she shouldn't. "Louise can't do magic."

Now that just wasn't true. "But I've seen her do it. She summoned me."

She shook her head. "That was the first spell she ever succeeded at, and even then she had serious side effects."

I didn't know what Kirche was trying to get at. Most people in my homeworld never learned magic. "Even if that's true I don't understand why it matters."

"In this world, magic is everything." Kirche continued her explanation. "The difference between a peasant and a noble is their ability to do magic."

"But anyone can do magic if they're taught." I objected.

"Maybe on your world, but not here in Halkeginia." Kirche replied. "Most people just don't have the ability to perform magic at all, they have no attribute, that's why they're peasants. Those of us that do have a magic element are the nobility."

How strange. But I supposed it was simple enough to understand, and it did explain some things. In a world without levels, someone who had magic would always have a huge advantage over someone that didn't. But why would so many people lack any kind of magic attribute? Everyone should have one, if not two.

"A noble who can't do magic is declared In Ex Prime, and is a great shame to their house. They're usually exiled if discovered, or hidden away somewhere by their family to escape the embarrassment. The only reason Louise has barely avoided this fate is because even if she can't actually cast spells, she can create these smokey little explosions. It means she has magic, even if she can't use it."

"So… her classmates have been bullying her because of that?" This disapproval in my voice was clear.

"Well, yes I suppose." Kirche shook her head with a half smile. "But also no. Louise is from a very proud family, both her father and mother have a reputation for being incredible mages. Then Louise comes to the academy with her pedigree and proud bearing, and she's a small little thing with silly pink hair and quite a temper. That alone would be enough to make people tease her, but then all her spells turn out to be explosions, and she refuses to acknowledge just how ridiculous she looks, and continues to act in a haughty attempt at a regal bearing. Of course everyone was going to make fun of her!"

I blinked at that. "That just sounds like you're making excuses for bullying her."

"It wasn't bullying, not at first." Kirche rolled her eyes. "It was _teasing_. If she hadn't made such a joke of herself it would have stopped almost immediately, but she didn't understand that, and now she hates almost everyone at this school, and they hate her back."

"And what about you?" I asked. "Were you just teasing her?"

Kirche hummed before answering. "You heard her earlier, calling me a slut and a barbarian. I might not hold any ill will towards her, but she feels quite strongly about me."

Wait. Was Kirche now trying to say Louise was the bully? That was ridiculous.

"Whatever _teasing_ you intended in good fun has obviously hurt Louise." I frowned at her. "And maybe if you want to become friends with her you could consider starting with an apology."

I was almost shocked at Kirche's response. She just rolled her eyes, and smiled. "I have my own pride too, Raphtalia. I'll admit fault after I've done something wrong, and not before."

I was stunned into silence. The sheer of belligerence of that statement honestly reminded me of the sort of thing Naofumi might have used to say. Actually, no. With the sheer arrogance with which it was delivered, it reminded me more of Princess Malty…

"Now you're looking at me like I'm a monster." Kirche pouted.

"...You're not old friends at all." I realised out loud. "You weren't bickering like old friends, Louise just hates you."

"And I love her for it." Kirche smiled.

"How twisted can you be?" I gaped.

"It's not as twisted as you think it is at all." She dismissed with a wave of her hand. "If you're interested in something of course you want to poke it and prod it, turn it over in your hands and see its different sides. Really, I'm like any boy picking on a girl he likes."

"Yes, well those boys _grow up_, but you're just vicious and unrepentant." I snapped and stood up, pushing my chair out and leaving my meal unfinished. "I can't believe I misunderstood things so badly."

"You're _still_ misunderstanding them." Kirche scoffed. "Louise is much stronger than you think she is, and she doesn't need your protection."

"I've had enough of this." I shook my head and turned away.  
"Goodbye Raphtalia!" Kirche called out to me in a cheerful voice as I stalked away.

That woman was unbelievable! How could she just treat Louise like some kind of toy for her to play with? It was a wonder that someone as sweet and quiet as Tabitha could ever be friends with her. Now I was wondering if she even _was_ friends with the small girl.

Shaking my head in disbelief I stalked away to find Louise. I owed her an apology; she was completely right about Kirche!

When I didn't find Louise in her room, I spotted Siesta sweeping one of the halls and humming to herself as she worked. "Siesta!" I called out to her.

A wide smile came over her face when she saw me. "Hello, Raphtalia. It's a lovely day."

"Yes, it's nice outside." I agreed, and glanced at her broom. "Though it seems a shame to be caught up inside. Anyway, sorry to keep you from your work, but have you seen Louise?"

"I saw her climbing the void tower." She looked over her shoulder and pointed. "In that direction."

"Thank you." I told her, and started to head the way she indicated.

"Um…"

I looked back and saw Siesta closing her mouth and sheepishly looking away. "Is something wrong?"

"I was just curious… um, you grew up so fast." Siesta nervously rubbed her thumb across the broom handle.

"Oh, it's just a thing about my race. When... certain conditions are met we just start growing." I chuckled to put her at ease. "Why, did you miss the small me?"

She blushed and looked away again. "I still think you're very cute."

I almost blushed at the compliment, and looked away rubbing the ends of my hair between my thumb and forefinger. "Thanks."

* * *

I had to climb two other towers before I finally found Louise at the top of one. She only just finished explaining the different kinds of magic they had in this world when she suddenly opened her menu, turned pale and cursed.

"What's wrong?" I asked, worried. She was obviously worried about something.

There was no answer at first, as she just looked intently at something on her HUD. After a moment she lowered it, and covered her mouth with her hands.

"Louise?"

She straightened up and checked the menu again, before lowering it. "...WHAT?!" She exploded after standing there for a moment. "F-f-for how long?" She demanded, then turned to me. "Can a Hero Weapon change your magic attributes?"

"No, I don't think so." I answered. "Or at least mine stayed the same."

Louise chewed her lip, looking stunned and disbelieving. "I-I need to write Mother." She nodded. "Yes. Yes that's what I should do. I'll write to Mother, and she'll know what to do."

With that said she turned on her heel and started back down the tower.

"Louise, I don't know what's wrong!" I hurried after her.

She didn't answer any of my questions all the way back to our room. She threw the door open with and strode in only to let out a shriek of surprise and leap back a step. "Brimr's blood!"

"What's wrong?" I put my hand on my sheath and jumped in front of her. Inside the room I found a girl wearing a brown cloak. "Who are you?" I demanded, drawing my sword.

"Oh, sorry I didn't mean to frighten you." She reached up and pulled back her hood, exposing a beautiful, heart shaped face framed by purple hair that stretched almost to her shoulders. "Louise, it's me."

"H-Henrietta?" Louise gasped, putting her hand to her chest. "I thought you were the inquisition!"

This Henrietta's eyebrows came together in a confused expression. "Why would you think I would be the inquisition?"


	40. Chapter 40

"Why would you think I would be the Inquisition?"

That was an excellent question to which I had no adequate answer. I stood there gaping at my old friend as I realised what I said, how it almost incriminated me, and that I couldn't tell her. Oh, she was also the princess of Tristain, and a friend I hadn't seen for many years. Somewhere from amongst the confused, straining jumble of thoughts I remembered my decorum and bowed low.

"P-Princess! I'm so sorry for my rudeness!"

"Louise, it's fine, it's fine." She laughed it off. "Please, raise your head."

I risked a look up at her face, and saw that she was smiling at me, and so for the moment unlikely to call for the torturers. No! That was a horrible thing to think about my old friend. "Princess, it's been so long, I almost didn't recognise you."

Her smile became a little sadder when she heard that, but she reached out to clasp my hands with her own. "Please, call me Henrietta."

"Henrietta…"

"And this is your bodyguard?" She turned towards the door where Raphtalia was standing.

Apparently my familiar had been able to read the situation somewhat, as her sword was now sheathed and she was bowing low, too.

"Uh-" For a brief moment I considered lying and saying yes, but immediately felt ashamed by the idea. Henrietta was my friend, since when had I become so deceptive? "No, this is my familiar, Raphtalia."

"Your familiar? I heard that you summoned a child?"

"She did, your Highness." Raphtalia explained, standing straight and pointing to her ears. "But my kind grows quickly under the right circumstances."

"Is that so?" She looked surprised. "It's scarcely been a month since the summoning ritual. What could have made you grow so fast?"

I immediately felt a prickle of sweat on the back of my neck at the idea of explaining how my familiar grew stronger through slaughter, and quickly inserted my own explanation. "Magic! Raphtalia grows stronger when there's plenty of magic… Henrietta, not that I'm unhappy to see you, just this is quite sudden. If I'd known you were coming, I would have prepared."

"I didn't want you to prepare, Louise." Henrietta smiled at me. "I missed my old friend, and I don't want you to feel bound to me by royal duties for a playdate."

I could sense the tiredness in her voice as she spoke, and I could only imagine the exhaustion that came with her inheritance. As the mere third born daughter of a ducal household I was held to a high standard in poise and decorum, one which I certainly met, but the burden on my shoulders must have been infinitesimal compared to the expectations a future Queen would be expected to meet.

That was without even mentioning the nightmare unfolding in Albion, with Cromwell and his radical Puritans threatening her fiancé's life. From everything I heard the political union had seemed like a match made in heaven right up until just a few months ago.

The least I could do was show Henrietta a good time. Though I certainly had my own worries… Thinking about it calmly, the letter to my mother could wait, at least until I had a private moment.

"I missed you, too." I said honestly.

She took my hands with hers and squeezed them as we faced each other. After a moment we broke apart, and Henrietta said, "Wasn't the Familiar exhibition today? Aren't you going to be late? Oh, I was so looking forward to seeing it."

I had been so distracted by the events of today that I had completely forgotten about it. Between the tiff with The Sow, the revelation that I was a… I may, just may, be a Void Mage, and the sudden appearance of Henrietta, it was the absolute last thing on my mind.

A less dignified lady would have flapped their mouth open and closed while searching for an excuse. Instead, with great dignity and poise I chose to rely on my very capable familiar. "R-Raphtalia had something excellent planned."

"Really?" Henrietta looked pleasantly surprised while Raphtalia gave me an inscrutable look over her shoulder. "I'm so glad to hear it."

"I-In fact, Raphtalia, why don't you head over there right away to get ready for your big show?"

The look on Raphtalia's face was one that said, 'We'll talk about this later.' However her lips spoke, "Of course, right away." Somehow she seemed disappointed and amused at the same time.

Where did she get off on acting like that? She was barely thirteen! I'm the elder one here!

Once my troublesome familiar was gone, it was just me and Henrietta. She anxiously watched the door for a few moments until Raphatalia's footsteps were out of earshot, before turning to me with a more serious expression.

"Is everything okay?" She asked. "You seemed like you were expecting trouble when you came in."

"Er…" -Thinkthinkthinkthink- "Raphtalia and I had a small fight earlier today."

"Oh, no. What over?"

"I-It's embarrassing to admit, but I've… struggled just a tad with my magic, and because of that some of the stupider students have seen fit to try and bully me."

"Oh, dear." The sincere worry on her face made me feel guilty about deceiving her, even if it was with the truth.

"Raphtalia seemed to think I should simper to them to try and make some friends." Just the idea of apologising to Kirche left a bitter taste in my mouth. What did I have to apologise for, anyway? Not to mention the rest of the fools at this academy. "Of course I said no, but she was about to start lecturing me again when you arrived."

"I see." Why did she look like she was now pitying me? "Well, I'm glad to see you, anyway."

Unable to bear her gaze much longer I turned away. "A-anyway, I'm just glad to see you again, at last."

"Me too, Louise… I have something to confess, though. Although I did hope to rekindle our friendship, that alone was not my sole reason for coming here."

There was a faint pang of disappointment, but only faint.

"There is something I need you to do for me that I can't trust to anyone else."

"Anything, Your Highness." I meant it. She could trust me with any task, and I would never betray her.

"And Louise, this must remain a secret between us. Not even your familiar can know."

"I understand."

"I'll be back tonight to explain more, but right now I'm expected at the Exhibition." She smiled, ruefully. "Waiting here for you has made me quite late."

I couldn't help but blush. "I'm sorry, Your Highness."

Henrietta intended to keep our meeting completely secret, to the point where she didn't even want people to know that we'd met. She left first, and I waited until she was gone to slam my door shut and get out my quills, ink and parchment, before quickly jotting down a letter to Mother and Father. Of course I couldn't completely dispense with the formalities, but after showing my parents due respect and deference I cut to the heart of the matter.

I may be a Void Mage. It sounds ridiculous to even think it, but I believe it to be true. Please send for me so that I may return home, or visit me here so I can-

So I can what, exactly? What would they do with their daughter if she declared herself to be talking dragon all of a sudden? Or that she heard the voice of Brimir directly? Probably exactly the same as if she announced herself to be a Void Mage. I would be hidden away in the manor with Cattleya, my mad ramblings kept to myself and away from anywhere they could embarrass the family.

I couldn't tell them. It was awful, and they deserved to know, but I couldn't tell them. Maybe if I had some kind of proof to show them, but all I had were a set of strange floating words that only I could see.

Brimir's Blood, that did sound mad, didn't it?

I held the unfinished letter over a candle until one corner set alight, and dropped it into a dish where I watched to make sure it was nothing but ashes, before I finally left the room.

It was strange. After at last reuniting with my oldest friend I now felt almost completely alone…

By myself, I made my way over to the Exhibition to watch the remaining performances. Even without any preparations Raphtalia did quite well, using some kind of illusion magic to create multiple copies of herself, and changing the stage so it looked like the back of a giant turtle. In her private box, Henrietta looked surprised and delighted as Raphtalia pretended to fight an Illusion of a strangely dressed man in white with a magic book that shot paper sheets like razor disks at her.

The entire crowd was cheering and clapping as they all heard the sound of a loud, earthen crack. Everyone turned, to see what looked like a golem made of soil rise up from the ground. It turned with a loud groan and stepped with an earth shaking this, as dirt and rubble fell off it to leave a trail of freshly turned earth in its wake as it lumbered away from the crowd towards the outer wall of the castle.

I was so shocked that I didn't even join the crowd with renewed applause. It was incredibly well crafted. In fact, it was by far the most convincing illusion I had ever seen. From the sound of it moving to the trail of destruction it left behind, truly it was incredible.

"Well done, Raphtalia." I said, aloud. However, when I looked back to see her face, she was completely shocked.

Why? Had she not expected it to seem so real? Or maybe the shock was a part of her act?

I'm embarrassed to admit I believed it was all part of her play right up until she leapt off the stage and charged after it.

"Everybody, get back!"

...Oh dear.


	41. 41 the Golem

In front of the stage, the crowd who had previously been watching my performance with rapt attention began to panic at the warning I yelled to them. Chairs that people had been sitting in were thrown over, as crying people scattered in all directions to get away from whatever this monger was. The princesses bodyguards pressed in close around her, drawing swords and warding off anyone that might trample their master with blades pointed in all directions. They were led by a tall blonde woman, who bellowed orders at a low register which cut across the din.

Meanwhile, my master foolishly stood still staring up at the creature as it lumbered towards one of the towers. What was she doing?! I watched in disbelief as she drew her wand and began chanting a spell pointed at the back of the monster.

Without waiting to find out what it was, I leapt from the stage and pushed through the crowd to get to her, knocking over several lower leveled people in the process.

Louise finished her incantation and a tiny little Smokey explosion appeared on the creature's back. It froze in place, the moisture in its body drying out in an instant. For a moment it looked like she had defeated it with just one shot, but after then it turned around to face her, staring at Louise for a long moment before reaching across to tear off one of its own arms. The creature then threw the piece of its own body at her like a child tossing a ball up. This ball however was the size of a large boulder, and arced down towards her like a landslide. In a panic Louise threw her arms up and screamed as it was about to crush her.

Only barely did I make it in time to scoop her into my arms and leap out of the way. Instinctively, she clung to my neck as I pulled her closer and protected her body from the explosion of dirt with my own. My back stung as my HP dropped, but by an amount so miniscule it actually surprised me.

I quickly checked my hud and saw that the attack damage was so small it had to have been made by a level one creature. Now that she was out of danger I realised that Louise was probably high enough level that she wouldn't have taken that much damage either… Her stat growth was a lot smaller than mine, due to mine being boosted by her Familiar Magic III, but even so it wouldn't have taken away more than ten percent of her total HP. Really all I saved were her clothes…

Nevertheless, she clung to me, pale faced until she noticed the princess carry she was in, then she turned red and demanded, "Put me down at once."

Really, she was almost as rude as Naofumi.

"That was reckless."

"It's the duty of nobility to raise arms on behalf of the Queen." She made a show of brushing the dust from her shoulder and stood up straight. "Which of course includes the Princess."

"They don't seem to think so."

The noble children behind us were pushing past and trampling over each other in a desperate rush to get indoors. Henrietta's bodyguards were having a hard time keeping the panicking students from reaching the Princess. One of them even lashed out with the hilt of their sword to bash a boy in the nose, who hit the ground with blood pouring from his face. I hoped for her sake he was only a fourth or fifth son…

In the meantime the teachers were shouting orders over the din in a desperate attempt to reassert order, but only seemed to be adding to the chaos. Right in the middle of the crowd, Kirche stood there, a small pillar of darkened level 20 flesh that even boys wider and taller than her bounced off of like children. She honestly seemed amused by the situation more than anything.

Really, what an awful girl.

"What's it doing?" Louise demanded.

When I looked back to the creature, I saw it was trying to smash apart the walls of one of the towers without much success. Every time it struck the wall with its giant fists there was a flash of light, and the creature was thrown off balance. Then it would stand up straight and try again to much the same effect. It almost looked like...

"It's trying to break in." I realised aloud. "Do you know what kind of monster it is?"

"It's not a monster, it's a spell." Louise answered. "The Mage that's controlling it is probably inside it." Then she murmured to herself, "This might be a good chance to experiment."

Well that made things a lot easier. I would certainly be able to defeat a level one Mage on my own.

"Alright, stand back Lou-"

The chanting of her spell interrupted me.

"Louise, no!"

She brandished her wand forward and cried out, "Explosion!"

I was afraid another failed attack would provoke the golem to attack us again, but instead the creature was consumed in a flash of blinding white light. I expected parts of it to rain down around the courtyard, but none did. It was as though the very earth it was composed of had been completely consumed. Not only that, but the entire wall of the tower was reduced to total oblivion. The sound wasn't even like an explosion, but more like a whistle as air rushed in to fill the now empty space.

Louise and I both stared in complete shock at the results of her attack. There was nothing left but two stumps of legs with a perfectly sheer surface where the knee joints used to be. If the controller was inside that thing, they definitely weren't alive anymore…

Except there was no XP notification.

Directly below where the golem had been, a gloved hand shot up from the earth, and a figure in a cowl pulled itself up from the ground like it was climbing out of a hole. Covered in mud, the figure wasted no time charging through the hole in the tower's base.

"That's the thief, Fouquet!" Louise yelled. "We have to stop her!"

Wasting no more time I ran across the courtyard as fast as I could move, which was a lot faster than Foquet could. He, or she I suspect from the faint scent of perfume mixed in with the wet dirt, turned to the entrance behind them to cast some sort of spell at me, but I was already in their face. My attack stat was so high that against a level 1 spellcaster I might kill them by accident even with a comparatively soft blow, so I seized her arm and twisted it.

Her breath hitched in pain as her arm broke, and in my vision her hp bar dropped sharply, but impressively she was able to finish her enchantment.

The ground beneath me turned to thick mud, and I fell into the pool still clutching her arm, except that somehow she wiggled free of my clutches and all I got was the long glove that came to her elbow. I tried to pull free, but the thick sump had no friction and the pool only grew wider as Foquet staggered out of my reach. I still wasn't quite ready to kill her yet, but I didn't want her getting away, either.

I quickly spat out the words for the blinding flash spell I learned from Louise, and aimed my palm at the thief even as my left arm was still trapped below the mud. The spell went off and Foquet shrieked as she covered her eyes, falling backwards as she did into the tower's interior. That at last broke her concentration, and the mud trap spell she cast on me disappeared, only to instantly harden into clay. Damn it, that was even worse. As I strained to free myself with just one arm, Foquet uneasily climbed to her feet, snatching up her wand with her good hand as she did. She tried to rub her vision clear with her elbow and slowly her eyes focussed on me trying to free myself.

She hesitated for a moment, before pointing her wand at me again. I rushed to chant another flash before she could launch an attack, but instead of me being crushed by the earth pressing in around me, a wall of dirt rushed up to fill the space between us, breaking my line of sight and sealing her inside with her quarry.

"Raphtalia, are you okay?" Louise ran up to me.

"Don't worry, I can free myself! Get upstairs to the wall!" I told her. "Hurry, before she finds what she's after."

She hesitated for just a second, before dashing away, leaving me to break apart the dried clay to get out.

"This is what I get for underestimating someone-!" I grunted, "Because of their level!"


	42. 42 The Taste of Power

According to Raphtalia, one of the main benefits of being a Hero was access to the magical hud. I'd been told the word itself was an acronym for some phrase in her master's original tongue that didn't translate so well to her native language, or presumably Tristainian for that matter, either. She and the other native Heroes had apparently just used the word hud or menu when referring to the strange enchantment that augmented my vision.

I just couldn't get used to the labels it gave to things always popping into my vision whenever I looked around. It was always displaying odd bits of information that I wasn't sure what to make of. For example, why did a professor's hp go down one point after smoking his pipe? Everyone knew that tobacco was good for the lungs, I couldn't imagine he would be hurt by it.

But the biggest thing that it brought was a spell list. On a sub folder labeled 'magic', I found a list of every single spell that I had ever attempted to learn, all greyed out and unusable. When I tried to select them from the menu all I got was a little notification that said, 'requirements not met'. On that list of spells I had access to, only one wasn't greyed out, Air Vacuum. That was the spell I learned from feeding a bit of rope to my 'Heroic Weapon', and it worked perfectly.

So of course I was curious to see what else I could learn. Later on, in the middle of an alchemy class, I noticed I was getting a reaction from some gunpowder. It unlocked a new spell, 'Explosion'.

'What a disappointment,' Was all that I thought at the time. I had no difficulty at all in causing explosions, it seemed to me that the tricky part was not doing that. So I ignored it, until I was confronted with the golem.

My attempted fireball was the same disappointing affair as ever. At level twenty or at level one, a failed spell was equally worthless. Then a thought hit me. 'I'm not a Fire Mage. I'm a Void Mage.'

And so I tried the only other potentially helpful spell I knew and the results were… glorious.

"Hah-hah! Teh-hee-hee-hee!" I couldn't stop giggling about it. The power! Such power! The walls of the academy were enchanted with ancient and powerful defensive runes, and my Explosion had utterly decimated them without any resistance at all! "Heh-he-hee! I could destroy the whole tower!"

That thief jolly well better surrender to me if she knows what's good for her!

Thanks to the levels I had gained, climbing the stairs to the wall was easy. What previously would have had me winded with exertion only had me breathing a tad harder as I flew across the wall and into the Void Tower. I hadn't seen Foquet come out, so he had to be downstairs. I checked each floor as I went, and found every door locked until I arrived at the ground floor where I could see the improvised earthen wall the scoundrel had raised, and a door further beyond it that had been left open. With my new magic I could easily break down the wall and bring Raphtalia inside, but I didn't feel the need to do it.

With all my new found power I should easily be able to defeat a mere thief! I might even be rewarded for it. Henrietta was in the academy, would she be impressed if I was able to capture the infamous Foquet?

I never want her to look at me with pity again.

Resolved, I walked past the hastily summoned wall and peeked around the corner into the room. The bottom part of a broken mop was lying on the ground, and Foquet was using the top half of the mop and a scarf as a splint for his broken arm.

Without waiting, I rounded the corner and pointed my wand at him. "Don't move!"

He froze for a second, one corner of the scarf in his mouth… Wait, those were some awfully feminine lips for a man…

"You're a woman?" I gaped.

In response she glanced at me and finished tying the knot with her free hand.

"I said don't move!" I yelled. "Or I'll- I'll- I'll explode you!"

She stared at me for a moment. "Are you alone?"

"O-of course not!" I quickly lied. "Raphatalia will be here at any moment, so surrender now before she breaks your other arm!"

"Your friend from outside?"

"Yes!"

She looked past me. "Then who's that?"

"Huh?" I looked around to find no one there. In the time it took me to realise I had fallen for the most obvious ruse ever devised by human minds, she had already seized my wand arm by the wrist and somehow jumped up to wrap her legs around my neck. With an uncanny twist, she spun about, and the shift in momentum threw me to the floor. With her thighs about my neck and squeezing, I couldn't breathe let alone cast anything! My wand arm was somehow trapped under her good arm pit and pointed at the ceiling. My high level had made me as mighty as a grown man, but somehow the position I was in made it impossible to bring my strength fully to bear against her.

My vision started swimming before I realised how deadly serious this was. Foquet was going to suffocate me! With my free hand I reached up to her legs and tried to get a grip, but I could only wrestle with one of her legs at a time when I needed to remove them both! Pawing at the cloth of her trousers I somehow managed to grab onto the hem of both of them and pulled. It was a terrible hold, but I just barely managed to separate her legs from my neck and I sucked in and out great heaving gulps of air. I couldn't ease up though, immediately I felt the cloth starting to slip from between my fingers.

I could only think of one thing to do. My wand was trapped under her arm, but pointed at the ceiling.

"E-Explosion!"

Foquet gasped and released me. The roof above was annihilated utterly, and the rest of the tower that had been leaning on that floor to support itself collapsed towards the ground. I screamed and covered my head at the weight crashing towards us, but felt Foquet throw herself over the top of me while chanting something.

A dome of Earth rose up to shield us and we were both trapped in the darkness, hearing the sound of heavy crashing into the barrier. Bits of soil fell into my hair and I held my breath, praying that her protection would hold or we would both be crushed. After a few minutes the shaking and rumbling stopped and all that could be heard was the sound of her muttered incantations. For a moment I wondered why she was still casting, but then I realised even if it had stopped falling, the entire weight of the tower was probably still above our heads.

Foquet couldn't do anything else while focused on a spell that just barely kept us safe. Even then it was only a matter of time until we were both killed.

Raphtalia! Wasn't she right at the base of the tower when it collapsed? Was she safe?

A sob escaped me at the helplessness of the situation. Look at where my foolishness had landed me!

No, this wasn't the time for self pity. I needed to find a way out of here. If only I could use Earth magic to throw off the weight over our heads… Actually, there was something I could do. After all, my wand was still clenched in my hand.

I rolled over onto my back and pointed it up, only to meet resistance as Foquet flinched away from the tip. That's right. She had shielded me with her own body.

"I-I'm going to cast that spell again." I warned her. "So lay beside me or you could be hurt."

There was a minute pause in her chanting, before she rolled over to lay beside me, her voice hitching up with pain when she accidentally jostled her arm.

I bit my lip before pointing my wand upwards again. I hesitated for a terrified moment before whispering, "Explosion."

In the dark as we were, the sudden burst of pure white light left us both blinded. That bright light didn't go away after I finished casting, and it took me a moment to realise I was seeing sunlight. Our little cavity in the ground had become the bottom of a crater.

"Oh, thank Brimir." I whispered, looking across to Foquet who seemed equally relieved. "Now surrender or-"

I didn't even get to finish.

"Mud Slick!" Foquet hurriedly rolled away from me as I suddenly sunk into the ground.

The outrage! AfterI saved both our lives! "You treacherous-"

She snatched the wand from my hands to prevent future explosions and stuffed it in her pocket. She ended her incantation, and like Raphatalia before me I was trapped in a pit of hardening mud. I could only watch helplessly as she cast another spell to stand atop a rising column of Earth that lifted her out of the crater.

The last I saw of her before she stepped over the edge was the cheeky salute she gave me.


	43. 43 Buried Alive!

This was not my first time being buried alive. Back in my homeworld there were plenty of monsters and mages that used earth aligned magic, for whom burying their opponents was their bread and butter strategy. It was unpleasant and left you filthy, but as long you remained calm and were high enough level you could survive by following a few simple steps.

Remain calm, identify which way was up, and dig carefully. Same as if you were buried in an avalanche. In this case things were different for me. When the tower collapsed over me I was already trapped up to my neck in hard clay, and struggling to get one of my arms free.

As the weight of the Void Tower crashed down towards me I dimly realised this could easily be fatal. In a moment of adrenaline powered might I managed to free my arms from the ground and cover my head just as the massive wave of stone bricks and soil covered me completely.

Something heavy hit my arm just below the elbow, and I grunted in pain as the bone broke, but couldn't open my mouth lest I suffocate under the choking dirt.

By the time it was over, my HP was well below half and I felt a heavy weight pressing against me on all sides. I was completely buried, with no sunlight and my waist aches where the force of the collapsing tower had compressed the clay even more tightly into my body.

I didn't have any time to plan though. Without air I was going to die long before my wounds finished me. Struggling to keep calm, I used my good arm to try and clear the earth away from above me, but there was a massive weight on top of it and I couldn't budge it. I tried pressing my arm against it, but it wouldn't move at all.

Okay, okay. Staying calm would keep my pulse down and help me last longer. Somehow, I needed to get more leverage. Shifting about. It felt like one of my legs was more free than the other. If I could just get it out of the cavity it was trapped in.

With a heave, I was able to pull my leg free and bring it up to my chest. Then I leaned forward onto it and used the position to drag my other leg free, though I could feel my boot sliding off it as I did. That was fine, I could get a new one. By the time I was done my vision was getting hazy and my ears were buzzing.

Urgently, I dragged my legs beneath me and used them to add leverage as I pushed upwards. The weight above me was barely going away. That was fine, as long as I could just… move it!

A faint source of light reached my face, and I gasped in a breath of air. The weight above me hadn't shifted, I was just barely holding it up with everything I had, but I could finally taste sweet air again. The powerful taste of freshly turned Earth was all over my tongue, the haze left my mind as I could at last see things clearly.

"Help!" I screamed at the top of my lungs. "Is anybody there?! Help!"

To my surprise a woman's voice answered. "I can move that column, hold still."

I heard the sound of a spell being chanted, and a crash as the weight above me was rolled aside. With it gone, I threw the dirt above me off with a heave and crawled out of the hole blinking into the sunlight.

"Thank you." I choked and spat out the dirt, before looking up to see what had trapped me. It looked like a piece of the chimney that had remained intact, the different bricks held together by the concrete filling the gaps between them. I rolled over into my back and looked up to see my saviour silhouetted by the sun. Someone wearing a hood, and with a broken arm...

"Foquet!" I hissed and jumped to my feet, staggering slightly when I stepped on something sharp with my foot.

"Uh-uh, none of that!" She warned, pointing her wand at me. "Or your little Master isn't going to survive either."

"Where is she?!"

"Buried much like you were in that hole down there." She turned her head to the side and I glanced across to see a large crater in the ground. "Better hurry, or she'll be smothered.

Without hesitating, I ran past her to the lip of the crater, and slid to a stop just before its edge as I peeked over. Every step pained me, but it was worth it when I found Louise alive at the bottom of the pit looking back up at me.

"Raphatalia!" She yelled, seeing me.

"Louise! Just wait a second and I'll-"

I was interrupted by the feeling of a boot on my backside. A startled yelp escaped me as I pitched face first into the pit and rolled as I landed. When I turned around and looked back up I just barely saw the edge of Foquet's cloak disappear over the rim of the crater as she turned away.

"That thief!" Louise hissed, struggling to pull herself free of the hardened clay she was trapped in. "Now help me."

With my good hand I grabbed her arm, and heaving together I was able to pull her free, though my injuries pained me.

Louise barely took the time to brush the dust from her clothes, before starting to scramble up the side of the crater. "That rotten woman has my wand! Help me catch her!"

Why did she even need a wand when she already had a Heroic Weapon? She was crawling on all fours as she came to the lip of the pit, and almost slid right back down as the freshly turned earth shifted under her. Luckily, I was there to catch her and planted my palm into her backside to shove her up over the edge, before jumping up myself.

We found Foquet still there, surprisingly, directing three much smaller golems to shift through the wreckage in search of something.

"Louise, I'm not really in any condition to fight." I murmured to her.

"I'll fight her myself!" Louise spat boldly, stomping forward and kicking shattered pieces of a brick as she did. "With my fists and teeth if I have to!"

At this point it was clear that Louise was enraged beyond all reason.

"Just give up, already!" Foquet groaned with exasperation. "This is already ridiculous."

"Silence, criminal! I, Louise Francois De Valliere place you under arrest for theft, assault, and demolishing the bloody Void Tower! Now surrender."

Foquet stared at her in obvious disbelief for a long beat of silence, before raising her wand towards the girl and directing one of her small golems to, "Attack!"

Louise's eyes bugged with outrage that someone would dare to disobey her, before charging forward with her fists clenched and a war cry on her lips. She cocked her fist back in an obvious haymaker and punched the golem right in the face. The head of the magical construct exploded in a spray of dirt, and its body collapsed into the soil.

"Oh, for the love of-" Foquet knuckled her forehead with frustration and grimaced at what was no doubt quite a hea after all her spell casting.

She waved her wand, causing a pit opened up directly beneath Louise who fell in with an, "Eep-!" Only her head was still visible.

"Listen, brat. I'm not here for your silly little grudge, I'm here for the Staff of Destruction!" She took out Louise's wand and threw it away over her shoulder. "There, you can have it back when you find it later. After you're done serving as my hostage! Thanks to you I'm far behind schedule and my clean getaway is about to become a very messy one!"

Just as she finished her rant there was the sound of bricks being moved, and from beneath a pile of rubble, a long pipe shot out to land directly in Foquet's hands. It was copper coloured and one end of it was sealed shut. Near the open end of it was a black, jetstone like gem, and at the bottom of the other end was a handle with a trigger like nub.

Foquet blinked at it, surprised. "Oh, the staff! Convenient! But why did it just jump into my-?"

She was cut off as a bolt of black lightning connected her with the weapon for a split second. She remained standing for a second, before slowly pitching forward to land face first in the wreckage of Void Tower.

As I watched, her class description changed from, 'EARTH MAGE,' to now read, 'HERO OF THE LAUNCHER.'

"...What?" Louise asked.

* * *

Edited by Enid.


	44. 44 Guilt

I was overjoyed as I watched my brand new emesis fall face first into the dirt. There was a small beat of silence before I clapped and even cheered! Standing there in the ruins of the Void Tower, even with my bruised neck and injured familiar I was jubilant. In that moment victory tasted a lot like freshly turned Earth.

Then Raphtalia started giggling. It was infectious and I began laughing as well. Tears were pouring down my face, and she covered her mouth with one hand as I nearly fell down and had to sit for a moment to regain my composure.

"It's just too funny!" Raphtalia choked, wiping the water from her eyes.

"I don't get it, what is?" I hiccuped and dabbed my face with a handkerchief.

"Just…" She snorted and started up again, which got me giggling again, before finally she was able to speak. "The Weapon knocked her out!"

"Yeah, it did!"

"She fought so hard for it, and it was what defeated her!" Raphtalia continued. "She even knocked over a building for it!"

My jubilant feelings died suddenly as my familiar continued laughing.

"And the best part is-" She wheezed, coughing from laughing so hard. "The best part is she would have been knocked out even if we hadn't done anything!"

The blood drained from my face, as Raphtalia sat down, laughing so hard that she wasn't steady on her feet.

Even with my foe laid low before me, I had accomplished nothing. The damned Staff of Destruction was what had knocked the thief out! Even if I hadn't been there at all, Foquet would have been struck down by black lightning and handily arrested by the school staff while laying in an unconscious puddle of her own drool!

Raphtalia wouldn't have been hurt!

No! It was even worse than nothing! All I had managed was to destroy the Tower of the Void! That was it!

An ancient part of this school, a noble piece of history that had stood for centuries, and I had destroyed it to apprehend a thief that would have managed that just fine by her own bloody self!

All I could do was crouch down and hide my face in shame.

* * *

Soon enough we were found by Professor Colbert, and both of us was rushed off to be taken care of by the school nurse. I was fine, aside from some bruising around the neck where that woman had choked me, but Raphtalia was in much worse shape with cuts and scrapes all over her body, a broken arm, and even a few damaged ribs. The both of us were spending the night in the nurse's office while she brewed the potions overnight to heal us.

Meanwhile the identity of the thief had been revealed.

"Miss Longeville?" Louise repeated disbelievingly. "Your secretary?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so." The headmaster sighed. "She must have spent quite some time building her cover identity. The letter of recommendation I received regarding her came from quite a prominent source." He harrumphed. "At any rate, you have my thanks for saving the Staff of Destruction, Miss Valliere."

I noticed a look on Raphtalia's face like she wanted to correct him, but a subtle shake of my head dissuaded her. The absolute last thing I wanted was for people to find out about my own heroic nature and the leveling up system that accompanied it, or even more importantly, the nature of my magic which at this point seemed all but confirmed.

A Void Mage. Not just any, but the Hero of the Void. "How on earth am I going to explain this all to my mother?"

"If you need, I can send her a letter as well." Apparently the headmaster misunderstood what I was anguished about. "We must take responsibility for bringing that woman into our midst."

"Thank you." I smiled at him weakly. If nothing else having the school take the blame for what happened was better than facing the entirety of Mother's wrath on my lonesome.

"I have a question." Raphtalia spoke up, and the headmaster and I both turned towards her. "Where did you get the, uh, 'Staff of Destruction' from?"

Ozmond scratched at his beard thoughtfully, before glancing at me as if deciding whether or not I should know the truth or not. Eventually he sighed, before coming to a decision.

"It's quite a mystery, actually. When I was a younger, brasher man I got myself into quite trouble when I faced off against a Wyvern by myself. I was certain I was about to die when the beast exploded into pieces! Then from out of the bushes staggered a man who was heavily wounded, and with facial features unlike any I had ever heard before. When he spoke his voice was accompanied by some… bizarre sound, somewhere between hissing and sand running through an hourglass. Despite this remarkable bit of magic, he had no wand other than the Staff. I tried to bring him to civilisation where he might recover from his wounds, but he died before we could arrive.

As he told his story, I noticed Raphtalia's expression change. At first it seemed like she was curious, but towards the end she started to look more seriously concerned. "Did you ever find out how he was hurt like that? Or did anybody come looking for him?"

"I'm afraid no." Osmond answered. "While he was alive, the few things he said that I could make out were very strange, like asking to speak to my heroes or all things. At any rate, his staff was obviously a dangerous and powerful artefact that I could never quite make work, and so I secured it in the old school vault in the Void Tower where it would be safe." He harrumphed. "At least I thought it would be safe. I never imagined someone would be so ruthless to blow up a school to get at it!"

My stomach backflipped.

"Really, there could have been children in that tower! It's a miracle no one was harmed, or at least not more than you were Lady Raphtalia."

"W-what will happen to her? Miss Longeville, I mean. Will she face justice?"

"I should dare say so!" He blustered. "Theft is bad enough, but to harm destroy the Void Tower? She will certainly find her way to the noose."

All of a sudden, my mind went to that moment the thief and I were both trapped under the wreckage of the fallen tower, and how we we both nearly perished for what I did.

"But she assaulted me!" I argued. "And Raphtalia! Th-the hangman is only fair, right?"

"Well, normally as the noble woman assaulted it would be your right to set the punishment in regard to those, but this school belongs to the crown." Osmond explained. "For destroying the Void Tower she will face the Queen's justice."

I opened my mouth to say something, then snapped it shut when I realised I had no idea what I wanted to say at all. Justice. Yes, that sounded good. It was justice that the thief was facing, and it no longer concerned me.

"Is something the matter?"

Osmond's question startled me and words tumbled from my lips. "What will happen to- to- the Staff of Destruction?" That wasn't what I intended to ask, I couldn't really care less about the thing, but it was an entirely unsuspicious question to ask. I hoped so at any rate.

"Well it seems to be attached to Miss Longeville for now. Given its power and her talent as a Mage, she will be kept bound and gagged very tightly while being transported to Tristain for her trial before the Queen."

"Trial." I repeated.

"Yes."

"Where they will accuse her of destroying the Void Tower?"

"Yes?"

"...And she will be allowed to speak in her own defence?"

"Of course. That is to say, if the risk isn't too great of her attempting to use magic to escape."

It took me a moment to process what he said. There were two possible outcomes. Either she wasn't allowed to speak in her own defence and was executed for a crime she didn't commit, or she would be allowed and I would be incriminated.

Oh dear.

"Headmaster Osmond... uh, that is, I'm feeling rather faint all of a sudden. Would you leave me and Raphtalia to rest, please?"

He blinked once then nodded. "Of course, you must be exhausted."

With that he left the room, closing it behind him and leaving me alone with my familiar, who looked to me like she was about to say something. I held up one hand to forestall her, looking to the door where I could still see the old man's shadow lingering under the crack as he waited outside to listen in. It took a good few minutes before he grew bored and left.

"What were you about to say?" I asked her in a low tone so my voice wouldn't carry as far.

"That woman is a Hero now. Killing her might be an enormous mistake." Raphtalia said, then added, "And she saved my life after the tower collapsed on me."

...Brimir, damn it. All I could say to that was, "I agree."

* * *

AN: Edited by Enid.


	45. 45 Confessions

I could see that the conversation with Osmond had upset Louise somehow, though the exact reasons eluded me. With her small stature and silly pink hair, it was easy to forget I was looking at someone who was actually older than me, so I knew she really wouldn't appreciate soft words and gentle reassurances. Maybe the least I could do was listen, if she ever chose to speak about what was obviously disturbing her.

"How… important would you say a hero is?" She asked, seeming like she was fishing for something.

I took a moment to consider before answering. "I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that they're literally the difference between a world surviving and going extinct."

Louise opened her mouth. Louise closed her mouth. "What do you mean by that?"

She seemed shocked, and I suppose I can understand why, but at that moment she seemed so terribly naive. By the time our adventure together was over, Naofumi and I had ended the Waves, prevented the guardian beasts from awakening, struck down a half dozen power hungry, genocidal maniacs, and that's not even getting into the smaller disasters like plagues and famines that we helped with. This world must truly be quite peaceful to not even know of heroes, let alone need them.

"Every Legendary Weapon chooses its hero based on its own criteria. One of those is always need. A legendary weapon won't emerge unless there's a serious need for them, the Cardinal Weapons can't even be summoned in peacetime. For both you and that thief to be selected, it seems like your world is facing some kind of very serious threat."

Now she was looking at me like I was crazy. "I'm only the third daughter of the family! I can't just… just… do that."

"I think you underestimate yourself."

"No, no, you must be wrong. The world's fine! Well, not quite fine, there is a civil war in Albion, but otherwise we're at peace!"

I had no doubt things might seem that way, after all, good conspiracies were never obvious until they were ready to strike. My first interaction with the Pope could almost have been mistaken for friendly, before he revealed his true intentions. Of course I didn't say all this right away. It seemed like she wouldn't be able to accept any of this just yet.

I simply smiled at her. "I see. Well, I hope that's true."

She must have detected some insincerity in my voice, because she scowled at me. "But you're saying… We must save Miss Longeville?"

"Erm… No, the Heroic Launcher could simply choose another to wield it, but we might not be able to find someone else with the right traits to satisfy it."

"What are the right traits?"

"It varies between weapons. The Gauntlets for example rejected their Hero initially, and only accepted him after he endured an awful tragedy. It could be that the Launcher values Miss Longeville's quick thinking, or maybe her skill at deception."

My mind went back to our room. "I actually brought a Legendary Weapon with me to this world, but it never accepted me as a Hero."

Louise thought for a moment. "Is that the Hammer with a gem in it?"

Oh, she remembered? I was surprised. It had been a while since I even looked at it. "That's the one."

Louise lay there, considering what I had told her carefully. "Raphtalia, I don't really know or care about this whole Hero thing, really, but… there might be other reasons to spare Longeville."

"Like what?"

She shifted on the spot uncomfortably. "She… might not be guilty of everything they accused her of."

If I recalled her charges correctly, she was being accused of assault, fraud and theft, all of which she was absolutely guilty. That left only… "Oh, you were the one who destroyed-"

"Shhhhh!" She hissed at me, then buried her head in her hands. "But yes. Don't say it out loud, please."

It wasn't hard to imagine Louise being the one who did it. Right before she went into the tower she erased one of its walls entirely by accident. She probably fired off a spell at the thief and missed, otherwise I couldn't imagine her knowingly burying me alive.

Following that idea through to the end, "So if she testifies in a fair trial…"

"Someone else could be incriminated, yes."

Wow. What an ugly little mess my master had gotten herself into. "Then it might be better to confess now, rather than later."

"I… know." She agreed, hesitantly. "But… What about my family? I can't bring shame to my parents like that… not more than I already have." That last bit came out as a miserable little murmur.

That's right, wasn't it? For the longest time Louise has been considered almost inexprime, which in this society was deeply shameful for its aristocracy. Personally, I found myself rarely impressed by the nobility of any of the worlds I've visited. I knew there were exceptions, but it always seemed like usually the combination of their inflated egos and the extreme pressure they grew up under seemed to produce ruthless and arrogant fools with a deep sense of self righteousness and entitlement even while they were causing others to suffer needlessly.

Traits that I could see developing even in Louise, though there was a warmth to her. She was kind and honest, and it would be a terrible shame to see her punished for those traits.

"I can't lie, or keep secrets like this." Louise continued talking to herself, and I could see her eyes beginning to glisten. "Even if it hurts, I have to tell the truth. Oh, this is too much shame for me to bear..."

Despite my injuries, it seemed like I wasn't the one who was being most tormented by what happened. Not to mention that Louise confessing to the tower's destruction wouldn't solve the other problem of a hero being executed. If at all possible, the thief needed to leave here alive…

I chewed on my lower lip for a moment, before gently turning so I was sitting with my legs hanging off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Louise looked up, concerned. "You're injured, you can't be moving around."

"It's cold in here." I replied simply, as I stood up and gingerly walked over to her bed. "And I'm tired."

"Then go back to yours, what are you-?" She

"Please?" I murmured, as I stood at her side, and moved to climb under the sheets with her. "Just for a nap."

The look of disbelief faded, and I could see she was tempted for a moment. Before she could object much further, I reached an arm around to pull her into a hug and lay back against the pillow.

Louise was as tired as I was, I could tell. There was some discomfort in my broken arm, but I Ignored it in favour of stroking her hair and holding her close.

"It's okay, Louise. I'm sure it will all work out."

"But my Mother-"

"I'm sure she loves you very much, and she will understand a simple accident. Besides, these things have a way of working themselves out."

* * *

It took a while, but eventually she fell asleep while I only pretended to. Someone opened the door to check on us, but when they found us resting they closed the door and left us alone. During our she'd come to rest her head directly on top of my chest so it was difficult to extricate myself from her arms without waking her up, but I was able to slip my warm pillow into her grip. She only murmured a name in response before burying her face in the soft bundle.

It was rather cute.

The sun was only just coming down as I made myself invisible and slipped outside through the window. Even one handed it wasn't difficult to climb down the side of the school to the courtyard, before making my way to the student's dorms.

There was a jail in the school's guardhouse where they were keeping Longeville, and of course it was being watched by a teacher. I had to admit I felt a little guilty knocking out Professor Colbert, but I didn't hit him too hard, so he should only wake up with a small headache. Life wasn't so convenient that he simply had the cell keys on him, but with the strength of my mid level attack, Yin Yang Sword, I cut through the jail door quite easily.

Soon I had returned my weapon to Louise's room before climbing back through the Medical ward window, and back into bed.

Soon I heard the sound of a distant uproar when they found the thief missing, having mysteriously escaped.

All the while Louise slept, having never noticed a thing.

* * *

AN: Raphtalia has always been about heading off her master's self destructive tendencies.

With thanks to Enid.


	46. 46 or not

It had been a long time since Cattleya had hugged me like this, and it was as warm as I remembered. A little too warm actually. Ugh, I could feel that my legs were sweaty and so were the sheets. Had I gone to sleep without taking a bath? I couldn't dirty my sister like that! She was sick!

Now feeling embarrassed I pulled away from her embrace, only to find that the bed wasn't as large as I expected and I unbalanced myself right off of it along with all the bed sheets. Oof, I landed right on my tailbone. That really hurts!

Then I looked up to find it wasn't Cattleya who I'd been hugging, but a bleary eyed Raphtalia who was now looking down at me with obvious amusement.

I'm glad she was so amused when it was her fat bottom that pushed me over!

"Sorry?" She murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.

"It's fine." I answered with poise, while standing up and redignifying myself. Everyone has slip ups, what matters is your composure, after all! Speaking of which, I had decided what to do about the thief. Whatever else may come, the more important thing was still virtue and it was my duty as a noblewomen to behave decently. Aside from which, I should try to set a good example for Raphtalia. I would do the right thing in the eyes of Brimr and the law, and confess my crime. The thief would still face justice in the end, just for crimes she actually committed as opposed to one's that I had.

Without any reason to put off the inevitable, I left Raphtalia there and headed straight for the principal's office. She was injured and needed to heal, and after what I did to her she more than earned some rest… Aside from that, it wouldn't do to have someone who looked up to me be there for the worst of it.

I found the office closed, and without light from the inside. When I knocked no answer came, and for a while I lingered, looking for any sign of someone from the inside but heard nothing. After searching for a bit I found a student nearby.

"The headmaster?" The chubby boy looked around nervously. "You didn't hear? That thief they caught escaped and now some of the teachers and students are searching for her."

Longeville escaped? How?! The frustration I felt was so great that all I could was make it five steps from the boy and scream.

By the time I turned back the boy had scuttled off somewhere and I was left alone. How were the teachers they put on her door so incompetent? There's no way she could escape as long as someone was standing outside and managed to stay awake! Wasn't she supposed to be bound and gagged?!

Worthless. All of it worthless. My work to capture the thief had been completely ineffectual, I had ruined a perfectly fine tower, and the thief had escaped even after everything.

I couldn't even bear to show my face at dinner. That black haired servant girl who Raphtalia seemed to be friends with brought a meal to my room while I tried to decide whether I should confess or not. If Longeville was just going to escape anyway, was there any reason for her not to take the blame?

The feeling of my own worthlessness was all but unbearable, not helped by the feeling of today's grime and exertion still clinging to my skin. Having a bath at least helped with that second sensation.

With a towel wrapped around my hair and now dressed in my nightwear, I was ready to go to bed. However, when I came back to my room I was surprised to find someone inside.

"Princess Henrietta." I fell to my knees.

"I'm in your room, Louise. Please stand up, you'll make me feel guilty."

Oh, dear. The room had been kept in order by the servants, obviously, but they weren't allowed to touch most of my personal things, so my letter writing materials were still out, and my clothes weren't all hanging in the closet and really the whole place was just a complete mess!

"You don't need to rush about, just please sit with me." Henrietta took my hand as I fretted and we both sat on the end of my bed together.

"Sorry. I just… don't want you to have to put up with my mess."

"Really, I'm just happy to see you, so don't worry about that." She stood up to close the door, and suddenly the room was only dimly lit from the light of the setting sun outside. "Your familiar's not here."

"She was hurt by…" By me. "She's injured, so she's to stay in the medical wing overnight while the nurse brews a potion for her."

"That's not good, but I was hoping to talk to you alone, anyway. Is it true that it was you and your familiar who captured the thief?" She clasped my hands and asked, with an excited tremor in her voice.

Oh, the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint her. Oh, but I couldn't lie, either. "Anyone else would have been able to, she all but knocked herself out."

"Don't be so modest." Henrietta waves my concern off. "Really, What you did was incredible! Even after being caught in the tower's destruction you were able to to dig yourself out of its rubble and apprehend her."

"It really wasn't so impressive as that-"

"Enough, Louise. I can't have you being so humble when I've done far less in my own lifetime. If you speak so poorly of your own achievements, what must you think of mine?"

"Henrietta, I would never dare!"

"I know."

"Even after all this time, you're so kind to… someone like me."

When her silence dragged on, I risked a glance up and saw obvious concern on her face.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to self pity. It's just… You must have heard the rumours about me? That I'm inexprime? Until very recently they were all but true, and my magic is only now starting to work through no quality of my own."

I felt her hand on my shoulder. "What do you mean 'no quality of your own'?" She cupped her chin and turned my head to face her. "Louise, it was that strength to persist, your perseverance that brought you this far! You're incredibly brave, and incredibly strong!" She reached out to lay her fingers on my chest, over my heart. "Louise, I must confess. You're something of a hero to me."

What? Me? A hero to _her_? That can't be true.

"That's even why I'm here now." Henrietta continued, then stopped herself. "Louise, I… I only came here because I need your help, the Exhibition was just my cover. And the events with that thief have only reassured me that you're the only person I can trust! The only person who can save me. Louise, I so desperately need your help. Please. Will you be my hero?"

Seeing her obvious desperation, there was only one thing I could tell her. "Anything you ask of me, I will do my best."

She breathed out, relieved, and then said, "Louise, I've made a grave mistake..."


	47. 47 Bad Medicine

The health potions in those works were nowhere near as effective as the ones in mine. When I checked the effects of the hp potion the nurse had brewed, I was shocked to see just how small the effect was. A small boost to passive hp regeneration over time almost wasn't worth the taste. In order for my recovery to be completed that night I had to drink the entire cauldron! The nurse wasn't pleased by that, but neither was I! The taste was awful, and it was even worse whenever I burped. The litres of fluid sloshed around in my belly all night as I moved or shifted, and I was constantly running off to use the bathroom.

In the end it wasn't worth wasting the few potions I had left from Naofumi, but it was still uncomfortable. Those five potions were just about the only thing of his I still had, and had to be reserved for emergencies if this was the quality of healing available in Halkeginia. Morning came around eventually, and my arm had fully recovered.

The gossip about Foquet's escape was all over the academy. The manner of her escape was suspicious enough that most believed she had inside help, but no one had much of an idea as to who the 'traitor' could be. The fact that Louise and I had spent most of the day under supervision in the sick bay should defer most suspicions from me.

Apparently not just teachers had gone to try and capture her, but aso Kirche and Tabitha as well? Having fought the thief personally, I suspect she would be quick and crafty enough to slip away. That woman was nothing if not fast on her feet.

I found Louise in her bedroom, still sleeping peacefully. It was rather late in the morning, so I could only assume she was still sleepy from the previous day's exertions. Her HP had mostly recovered, but there were still faint bruises on her neck. It was good that she'd be back to normal soon.

I changed into some clean clothes and decided to leave her there. She was so peaceful asleep compared to when she was awake it seemed like a shame to wake. By the time I had returned to the room she was awake and getting dressed.

"Good morning. I brought your breakfast."

"Good morning, Raphtalia." She answered back, but ignored the meal I held out to her as she hurriedly clothed herself. "Are you feeling better?"

I was still a little queasy from that awful medicine, but there wasn't anything wrong with me that a slow day wouldn't cure. In direct contradiction to that, Louise had finished dressing and now looked like she was packing her bags.

"Why, are we going somewhere?"

"Yes. If you've recovered enough to travel then I would like you to come with me."

"Sure, no problem." I moved to start packing my things. "Where are we going?"

"To Albion."

My mouth opened then it closed. "I'm sorry, 'Albion'?"

"Yes, Albion, Londinium." She sighed. "Bad weather, worse food, many sodding paupers. Londinium."

I dimly recall her having mentioned the country before, but somehow the most obvious question about it had slipped my mind at the time. "How are we going to get there when Albion and Londinium are back in my world?"

"What?" She looked over at me. "No, Albion is in Halkeginia… Or, well, just off the coast of it. They certainly don't seem to want to be part of the continent, but we're going to go there by flying."

It took me a moment to answer. "That's… quite the coincidence. There's an Albion and a Londinium in my homeworld, too."

Louise looked interested for a moment before shrugging her shoulders. "Well, I hope yours isn't as wet and unpleasant as ours."

"I've never been there, but I have to ask… if it's so bad and currently involved in a civil war, why are we going?"

"Princess Henrietta has asked me to carry out a mission for her, and I have accepted." She glanced out the window at the sun. "It's still early, so we have time to get me ready."

"Ready for travel?"

"No. Well, yes that, but more importantly for my escort! Jean Jacques Francis, Viscount of Wardes will be coming with his knights to escort me there and back personally, and I will not let him see… this!" She vaguely indicated her neck area. "Normally I might wear a scarf to cover up my bruises, but in summer it would look terribly out of place."

"And who is Sir Francis, that you need to dress up for him?"

"I'm not 'dressing up' for him." She scowled at me. "I'm just… making myself _presentable_. I haven't seen him for years, after all. And I don't want to be embarrassed in front of my fiancé."

"...You're engaged?"

"Oh, don't look so shocked." Louise gave me a put upon look. "The Viscount and I have been arranged to marry for quite some time."

"Oh." I couldn't help but glance at her again." With her small frame and often childish outbursts it wasn't easy to see her as being of marriageable age, yet. Then again, Melty was very young when she was married to… her husband. I guess among the nobility these things needed to be thought out carefully and planned ahead. Much like in my world, when there were kingdoms and counties on the line, one couldn't afford to leave things to chance. Petty things like romance simply had to be pushed aside…

Or at least that was what I told myself.

"Are you okay?" Louise asked, concern all over her face. I wonder what expression I had been making?

"I'm fine." I answered immediately and, not to change the topic, continued before she could follow up her question with more. "What is the mission her highness gave to you."

"Her _royal _highness commanded me to secrecy.

It's not that I don't trust you to keep a secret, just that it's not my secret to share."

How very vague. "Well, I suppose this is as good of a start as any for your heroic career."

That drew her up short. "What do you mean?"

I'm not sure what was confusing at all, was she just being obtuse? "A secret mission to a war torn land given to you by the princess and accompanied by your fiancé and a company of knights? Louise, this is a _quest_ by any definition." She was practically _daring_ a charming bandit or assorted rogue to come in and sweep her off her feet.

Louise opened her mouth then closed it. "Yes, well. It won't be as exciting as that, I promise. You'll see. All that will happen is we shall be escorted there, I shall do the talking, and we'll be escorted home."

...Could she really be this naive? With her luck, this wasn't merely the beginning of a quest but a quest _chain_!

"Oh, don't give me that look!" She huffed. "Now help me pack!"

I was definitely bringing my weapons.

* * *

**AN: edited by Enid! He's a real lad.**


	48. 48 Longing

Naofumi still saw me as a child! At first it was annoying, but kind of made sense. Humans grew up so slowly, and for them age was important, so I understood it could be awkward for him to be an adult and my clear superior one day, and for me to be a peer to him so suddenly the next, but this was getting ridiculous!

Back in the Calmira Islands, he had pulled a mug of ale away from me saying that drinking could hurt my development. Just the other day, he asked Eleanore to keep an eye on 'Raphtalia and the kids', like I was one of them and he thought I needed to be babysat. Or when I tried to accompany him to a meeting with Melronarc's Queen and her generals, he told me to go play with my ball!

When I got upset he looked at me like he was completely baffled, like he didn't understand what he was doing wrong at all.

It hurt especially because I didn't just want him to see me as an adult, but I also wanted to… to be with him. I could admit that to myself. The way he still thoughtlessly touched me to ruffle my hair, or steered me by the shoulder, or took my hand, these weren't romantic gestures. He acted like he simply didn't understand how my body had changed, and so his careless little touches just made me ache.

As I explained the problem to Rishia, her face just got redder and redder. "Oh, oh, ohhhhh." She covered her face with her hands. "I don't know, I've never… I've never- Fueh?!"

The only other woman approximately my age who I tried talking to was Eleanore, and she simply blushed then went back to practicing with her sword. "A warrior should keep their mind on their weapon and not seek distractions."

Strangely, the first person to offer me anything like useful advice was Bitch. Maybe she had overheard my problem, or maybe she was laughing with her friends about someone else completely. Nevertheless what I overheard her say was, "The dumb rodent should just seduce him." She sneered. "Though it wouldn't surprise me if that criminal was hardly a man at all."

She was awful, I knew that. Bitch was one of the cruelest and stupidest people I'd ever met. Every time I thought about it I couldn't think of a single thing she'd ever been right about.

I knew that, but somehow it stuck. After all, what I really wanted was for Naofumi to feel about me the same way I did about him. Was that so wrong?

I wasn't a little girl anymore, it was wrong of him to keep treating me like this. If I could just force him to see me as a woman, then even if he only used me, even if it was just a 'one night stand', wouldn't I finally have a foot in the door?

When we were all finished training that day, I gently suggested to Filo that Melty was looking lonely these days, and immediately she ran off to cheer the princess up. When I pressed some coins into Rishia's palm and asked her to go to another inn for the night, she did so without asking any questions. Eleanore and the old lady had their own places to stay, and so that night it was just Naofumi and I in the castle's apartment.

Nervous and excited, I bathed myself with expensive soaps and worked my hair to a shimmer with a wooden comb and fragrant oils. Then I got dressed, not in my usual adventurer's outfit, but something else I bought with my pocket money. It was thin, nearly gossamer, but not quite transparent enough to reveal anything directly. It only hinted at the contours and lines beneath it, leaving plenty to the imagination while giving a tantalising suggestion of its contents. Combined with an expensive pair of black stockings, I barely recognised myself.

The last thing I had was some wine. The liquid courage gave a rose blush to my cheeks, and made me feel brave enough that I could do this. My heart pounding, I approached the door to Naofumi's room where I could hear him crafting something inside with his grind stone. Standing outside his room, listening to him moving around inside, I considered quitting. This wasn't the way I should do things, this wasn't fair to him, or to me. All these warnings flashed through my mind, but then I thought about things going back to how they had been until now.

If Naofumi sent me off to play with that rotten ball even one more time…

The humiliation of that moment was what pushed me over the edge. In front of the Queen and her generals, he had dismissed me so completely, like a little girl that had no place playing at being an adult. I simply couldn't bear to accept something like that happening ever again…

With my courage found, I knocked twice, softly. "Mr Naofumi? Can I come in?"

I heard his grind stone stop. "What is it?"

I bit my lip before answering. "I… want to talk."

He hesitated, before replying. "Alright, come in."

With my stomach fluttering nervously, I pushed open the door and I stepped inside to see his reaction.

"What did you want... to… talk about?" His eyebrows furrowed, and a scowl came over his features when he saw how I was dressed. "Who dressed you like that?"

"I… put this on myself." Without waiting for his answer I pulled the door shut behind me and stepped over towards him. He was tall, so I thought I might be able to do that thing I had seen other women do and look up at him shyly through my lashes, but he reached out to grab my shoulder and stopped me approaching him.

"Raphtalia, this is very serious. I need to know who gave you that."

My stomach plummeted, and I broke eye contact. Even when he was trying to protect me, he was being so… so… "I bought it with my own money."

"What? Why? Who told you that you should dress like that? At your age this is-!"

I grit my jaw in frustration, a sudden bubble of strange resentment welling up within me, and before I realised what I'd done I'd pushed him. He fell onto the bed, surprised, and even though I received a jolt of warning from the slave curse for being aggressive to my master, I gamely followed him to the mattress.

He landed on his back, a look of confusion on his face. "Raphtalia, what-"

My face was so close to his that we were almost kissing. I was on top of him on my hands and knees so my breasts were hanging almost out of the top and he could see my cleavage. "I did this. For me. Because I wanted you to see me like this."

He stared at me for a moment before pushing me back roughly by the shoulder and sitting up. "I can smell the alcohol on your breath. I don't know what's gotten into you, but you're clearly drunk. You're much too young for this."

"I'm not!" I snapped. "I'm not too young at all, look!" Driven by anger, I reached out and took his hand, moving it from my shoulder to my breast. "Feel that."

"Raphtalia-"

"No, feel that! It's real! It's not something a child has, isn't it?"

His large hand over my breast stilled, and after a moment he gave a small squeeze.

"See? It has weight! I'm a woman, not a girl."

He stared at me for a long moment, his expression blank.

"So please, don't treat me like a girl. It hurts." With my other hand I reached forward to touch his crotch, which quickly began to swell. "Especially… especially when I want to treat you like a man."

We both were still for a moment as I waited for his response. Then I noticed him trembling, and when I looked at his face, I saw how pale he was.

"Get out."

"Mr Naofumi?"

"I said, GET! OUT!"

There was a small sting as his left hand slapped my face. His attack stat was too low to really hurt me like that, but I was so stunned by his violence that I did nothing as he threw me off the bed.

"You. You." He reached out and grabbed my hair. "How did you do it?! How did you disguise yourself like this, BITCH?!"

"Naofumi-"

"Get out." Gripping my hair, he dragged me across the floor, scattering his tools. At the door he seized me by the neck with one hand and yanked the door open with the other. "If you ever come back, I'll kill you slut!" He snarled and bodily threw me out.

* * *

With a jolt, I awoke, heart racing. Louise snored soundly, while I looked around disoriented at the room until I remembered I was in Tristain.

That memory was one of my worst ones, but that wasn't the end of it. That night I finished the rest of the wine and cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, he had come into my room with a dark look on his face and berated me for letting Bitch sneak into our apartment.

Never again did I try anything like that…

AN: Flashback chapter! This memory was from the training sequence just before the turtle arc starts.

Thanks to Enid the bro-lord for editing.


	49. 49 Being Open

We left the castle to meet with Sir Warde and Henrietta's knights just before sunrise. The weather was quite warm around this time of the year, so even before the sun rose we only had to dress lightly.

To my amusement I learned that Raphtalia had never ridden a horse before, so we ended up leaving behind the other one Henrietta had provided so she could ride behind me. It was easier than teaching her on the road, though I did grow tired of her complaining that there weren't any feathers to hold onto.

Speaking of her complaining, I had never known my familiar to be sullen before. It was strange, she had gone to bed in what seemed like relatively good humor, but when I awoke I found her already up, with dark bags under her eyes and in something of a low mood.

On several previous nights she had awoken me, whimpering and crying from what I can only imagine to be quite nasty nightmares, given what I knew of her history. She was a slave in her previous world, during a time of major crisis. No doubt she had seen and experienced some rather horrible things, but ever since she had matured into her adult form she hadn't seemed to have any of those awful dreams.

Had she had one of her terrors last night, but kept quiet because she didn't want to wake me? Of course asking her to relive the experience would be rather dreadful of me, but at the same time it wouldn't do to leave her to dwell on such things.

"Did they not have horses in your world?" Seemed like a safe place to start.

"...They did, but they weren't the only pack animal around." Her arms were wrapped around my waist to keep her balance, and she shifted about carefully so as not to lose her balance. For a first time rider, horses could be incredibly uncomfortable. "Normally I ride a fillorial."

"Did you own one?" I think she had mentioned that creature to me in the past, something like a giant flightless bird. I could only picture them as something like a chicken in my mind.

"...No, but I often rode Filo."

I nodded as though I understood, though I had no idea if that was the name of her favourite bird, or a breed she was fond of. "My family owns a good many horses, partly because they're quite useful and partly for my sister. Cattleya loves animals you see, and because she's been unwell for a long time my parents allow her to keep all sorts of strange creatures. Horses aren't strange at all, but because she was so weak she couldn't ride them. Instead she watched over me as I learned."

I paused for a moment to gauge Raphtalia's reaction, but of course I wasn't so gauche to turn my head to stare at her directly. From what I could tell just from the feeling of her pressed against my back, the talk about my family wasn't upsetting her, and it seemed like she was paying attention so I continued.

"My mother and father are duke and duchess, you see. They are very powerful with very many political rivals. They could never be as soft or affectionate with me as I would have-" I coughed. "Might have liked at times. On the other hand, Cattleya could be quite doting in their place. Often when I was a child she was the one I went to for my cuts and bruises, or other childish complaints.

"It was to the point where when I had a nightmare or couldn't sleep, sometimes I would crawl into bed with her. Of course the dignified thing to do, maybe even the right thing, would be to send me back to my room by myself so I could learn some fortitude. Of course though, I'll always be grateful to her for the ear she offered whenever I struggled."

That seemed to provoke some kind of response. Raphtalia's hands tightened around my waist, but I couldn't tell if it was she was uncomfortable, or if it was because I had struck something of a chord.

I took a measured breath before continuing. "Often I found simply knowing that she would listen to me the most comforting thing of all. Even something as silly as a bad dream, I could talk to her about, or something as great as my… My own feelings of shame.

"The worst part of being away from home, I find, is not being able to talk to her so easily." Carefully I took one hand off the reins and placed it over Raphtalia's arm. I was pleased she didn't throw my hand away, and after a moment even interlocked her fingers with mine.

We rode in comfortable silence for a while, until eventually she spoke up. "Thank you."

A wide smile spread over my face, and I was glad she couldn't see my reaction through the back of my head. Terribly undignified.

She took a long breath to steady herself before she began to explain. "Last night I relived a memory. Not even one of my worst ones, many horrible things happened, but it's easily the thing I feel guiltiest about."

Ah, shame then. By Brimr's blessings did I know what that was like. The fear of being declared inexprime and dragging down my family's name had made my first year at the academy nearly unbearable. It was even worse by far than Kirche and the other's ceaseless bullying.

"That's strange." I said, and I felt her startle a little in response. "I find it hard to imagine you doin anything you thought was wrong."

"...Well, it wasn't my intention to hurt him." Raphtalia admitted. "At the time I didn't realise just how unwell the man I loved was… After he rescued me from poverty, fed and clothed me and helped me find purpose, he was like an idol to me. All I could see was his strength and his quiet kindness, so I never even noticed if he could sometimes be merciless to his enemies, or acted strangely, like we weren't even seeing the same thing. I didn't think trying to seduce a man might seriously hurt him."

"...Did you ever apologise?"

"No, he became worse after that. More disconnected from reality. If I tried to talk to him about it, he would just look at me suspiciously, like he thought I might be someone else."

That was… quite a lot. Obviously I had never tried to seduce a man, but from what little I knew it wasn't that hard, usually. My mother had always warned me that men were wolves who would use any chance that they could get, so I had no idea what to think of a man who had no interest in a woman as beautiful as Raphtalia. Of course, I don't think a lecture on the virtues and importance of being chaste would be helpful to her right now, though it was something I made a note to talk to her about in the future.

"I can only imagine how much gratitude you feel towards this man." I began carefully. "Which must make it more difficult when you can't even ask for his forgiveness."

She gave no obvious response.

"I will pray to Brimr that you might meet again and make things right, but until then know that I know you would never try to hurt someone deliberately. And, I'm sure that he knows that too."

Behind me, I heard Raphtalia sniffle and I quickly passed her back my handkerchief.

"Thank you."

"Think nothing of it." Then a small smile quirked at my lips as I thought of a joke. "Though, I must confess... I knew he must have been unwell before you even finished telling me your story."

She froze. "How?"

"Only a madman would turn down a woman as lovely as you are."

The sound of her giggles was a welcome one. They helped to settle my nerves as the reunion with my fiancé loomed closer.

* * *

**An: I'm hoping this clears up some people's confusion from last chapter.**

**Thanks to Enid.**


	50. 50 In Law Like Behaviour

The meeting place wasn't far from the Academy at all, and we arrived long before there was any warmth to the Sun's rays. There was no sign of Wardes anywhere, but he was coming from Tristain, so there was a good chance he was just late.

"Is this the right place?" Raphtalia asked after we waited for a few minutes.

"Yes." It was hard to imagine how I'd get the intersection of the academy road and the King's highway wrong. There was only one. "If you're feeling restless, you can take a walk."

"I'll be fine." She replied, and then we sat there in silence for a long moment. Eventually she asked, "You said Wardes is your fiancé, didn't you?"

"I did."

"Do you know him well?"

My heart fluttered briefly, but I schooled my voice to neutrality. "I haven't really seen him for some time, but we've been exchanging letters whenever he's not too busy."

"'Too busy'?" An obvious note of disapproval entered her voice.

"Well, Wardes is Captain of the Griffin Knights, and now a Viscount with a county to run. He doesn't always have time to write to me even if he'd like to."

"Does he like to?"

I rolled my eyes, but Raphtalia couldn't appreciate the gesture through the back of my head. "He's not some horrid fat old baron, like you're thinking of. Wardes was my mother's squire, and has been a friend of the family for a very long time. He took time to visit Cattleya when she was sick, and played at tea with me when I was a child."

"Sounds like he's quite a bit older than you."

I scoffed. "Raphtalia, you of all people cannot possibly be judging someone for that." Her body stiffened behind me, and I realised what I said may have come across as unduly harsh. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that, I'm sorry." I gently pat her wrist.

"It's fine." She answered with a sigh. "I'm just a little worried about you. It seems strange you would want to marry someone you hardly know."

"Well, no offence Raphtalia, but you were a commoner. For the Nobility, who have a lot to gain and even more to lose, arranged marriages provide stability, and stronger ties of blood that are harder to break than mere words. Besides, especially among such marriages, Wardes is handsome, wealthy, has his own lands, and is accomplished in his own right." I breathed out through my nose. "And for any family's third daughter he is quite the catch."

Raphtalia considered what I said in silence. "It doesn't sound like you're in love."

"When I was younger I was somewhat more infatuated with him, but that doesn't mean-"

"...Doesn't mean what?"

"Shhh. I can hear horses."

Her ears twitched and she turned her head toward the sound of several sets of hooves. "You were saying?"

"It can wait until later." I sighed. "Raphtalia, I appreciate that you're worried, but Wardes is a fine man, you'll see."

She made a noncommittal hum in the back of her throat just as Wardes and a dozen of his knights came around the bend.

He looked hardly a day older than I remembered him, though his naturally silver hair had always lent him a stately gravitas. He was growing out a beard that looked very manly on his face, and even at this distance I could see the mirthful glint in his blue-grey eyes at the sight of me.

As he came closer, he effortlessly pulled one leg over and slid off his horse's back before striding the rest of the distance over to us. He was tall and well built, though not so large that he might appear thuggish. When he came closer he dropped into a respectful bow that wasn't entirely fitting for I who was of a much lower station, but still left my face burning.

"My Lady Vallière." He purred as he looked back up at me.

Oh my… He looked even better in person than in my memories! It wasn't until Raphtalia pinched my side that I remembered where we were, and realised that he was looking at me for a response.

"V-Viscount Wardes." I coughed once. "It's a pleasure to see you once more."

"The pleasure is all mine." He replied, standing straight, and looking only at me.

I realised he didn't even glance at my familiar. I wasn't jealous of Raphtalia's beauty, after all it was only a matter of time until I grew into my own Vallière features, but I had definitely noticed just how many eyes she managed to attract… and how few I did, currently. Really, I wasn't envious of her at all, that would be unbecoming. But it was definitely nice that Wardes only had eyes for me.

"And please, call me, Jean, I'll call you Louise." He added. "I certainly don't want a cold relationship with you."

Behind me Raphtalia snorted, and I gave her a rough elbow.

"Very well, Jean." I smiled at him only a little tightly, due to my unruly familiar's antics. I leaned across in the saddle to expose her face. "This is Raphtalia, my familiar, and bodyguard."

Jean inclined his head politely, his eyes lingering on her ears for just a moment. "Thank you for keeping my Louise safe."

'My Louise'?!

My cheeks warmed as she answered. "Well, I understand that you were otherwise occupied so somebody had to."

If the dig at his dignity affected him too greatly, he didn't show it. He only smiled at the jest. "Well, we'll definitely be working very closely together now to keep our precious cargo unharmed."

"If you're the griffin knights, where are your griffins?"

"Raphtalia!" I hissed.

"I'm afraid a trip to Albion will be a little conspicuous atop a griffin, which I'm told will be inappropriate for a mission of quiet diplomacy." Jean answered smoothly. "We have an extra horse, if you want to ride by yourself."

There was an awkward pause.

"I'm afraid Raphtalia doesn't know how to ride one."

At that Jean quirked an eyebrow. "Your bodyguard doesn't know how to ride a horse?"

I could feel Raphtalia's arms clenched tightly around my waist as she seathed, while I coughed into my hand. "She's much more proficient with a sword, I assure you."

He glanced at her, only slightly bemused before shrugging helplessly, obviously not understanding, but smiling good naturedly. "Very well. We have a mission to accomplish. I've been told time is a factor, so we can't afford to take things slow for your friend's sake."

"No need for that." Raphtalia answered, and I felt the warmth of her body against my back disappear as she nimbly hopped off the horse. "I'll just keep up on foot."

The idea of it was so absurd that the watching knights all burst into laughter.

Raphtalia just stood there imperiously, hands on her hips. When the noise dies down she ground out, "I can easily keep pace with your low level beasts."

Looking unsure, Jean glanced at me, silently asking if this was real.

Not wanting to contradict my familiar, not to mention I was more than a little cross with her for that poor showing to my fiancé, I turned my horse away. If her pride drove her to the brink of exhaustion, well, that was just her fault wasn't it. Humble pie might taste bitter, but was essential for one's diet at times.

As I continued up the road, I heard the sound of the other knights and Jean hurrying to catch up. After a moment he pulled up alongside me. "Are you sure your familiar will be able to keep pace? I know she's not human, but I only count two legs on her."

I opened my mouth and closed it once, before replying. "We'll see."

He quirked an eyebrow at that, before smiling at me. "Well, that's fine. I actually just wanted to ride with you, anyway."

Despite everything, I couldn't help but worry about her. I know she was a much higher level than the horses, but would she really be able to keep up for the whole day?

* * *

The answer was yes. Incredibly, Raphtalia determinedly kept alongside the horses even when we went at the speed of a canter.

The knights had started the day making fun of her, but by the end of it they were making impressed murmurs as the sun began to set and we came into view of our destination.

"Remarkable." Wardes commented, staring at her ears.

For her part, Raphtalia looked incredibly smug, even as she panted incredibly loudly and her chest heaved with exertion. I would say she looked almost as conceited as she did exhausted, but that would be rude of me. I mean really, she was just being immature, and the men shouldn't be encouraging it!

I was going to have to give her a warning about controlling her temper.

Really, she was far too competitive.


	51. 51 Wedge Issue

Normally when travelling, those of noble birth would choose to stay as guests at the estate of other lords and ladies who were generally expected to allow this by social convention and basic courtesy. To refuse another noble to stay in your home was seen as a sign of mistrust or enmity. The simple reason for this was that to stay at a common inn, no matter how expensive, was simply below the dignity of those descended from Brimr.

I could only imagine the rumours from the other students of my year if they found out I had stayed at such an establishment, but in our case, other considerations had to be made. In the interest of subtlety, all the knights had taken the time to doff their armour and hide it in their saddlebags before they entered the world tree's shadow. They now looked like nothing but a bunch of mercenaries and ruffians. My disguise was mostly unchanged, so I simply looked like I was travelling with a bodyguard, and Raphtalia put on a bonnet and black dress to disguise herself as my maid.

Any who saw us would hopefully assume me to be a mere merchant's daughter and think nothing of our journey to Albion. After all, the country was in quite the perilous state, and it wouldn't do for a young girl to travel alone.

Part of that disguise meant tolerating the indignity of a common inn. At least it was a clean establishment, and the food was surprisingly tasty, which I hadn't expected of a common meal, but there was little reason to complain about a well spiced roast chicken and pumpkins with fresh green and warm bread with dripping. The knights certainly tucked into it with gusto, as too did Raphtalia.

The men also ordered ale, which wasn't especially surprising, but it seemed like that was probably the right time to finish up and head to the room. I quickly finished my meal, but couldn't eat as fast as I could have if politeness allowed it. Ultimately I was stuck listening to the men with faces red from alcohol all began to crowd about the pretty girl they met earlier that day.

"How old are you?"

"Do you have relatives? Do they look like you?"

"The fur on your ears looks quite soft, do you brush them with your hair?"

The questions started innocently enough, so Raphtalia, who was looking a tad flushed from the ale herself, answered them one by one.

Then one of the men asked, "Are you spoken for?"

Not wanting to explain her rather personal history to him, she prevaricated and immediately the men took that as an invitation to start flirting.

"Aren't you going to do something about them?" I asked Wardes, who was watching over them from nearby. "They're acting like drunkards."

He considered. "No, best not. We shouldn't be in danger until we get to Albion. It's best to let them relax now so that they'll be good and ready when we're on the mission."

I'm not sure I understood his logic, but I suppose he was the military leader here. He would know better than I would, after all.

"Well in that case I'm going to bed." I turned to head upstairs, but then seeing the way the men were learing at Raphtalia I hesitated. Would she be okay down here? As irritating and embarrassing as she had been throughout the day, it wouldn't do to leave her in a place like this with men like these.

I chewed my lip for a moment before I made eye contact with her and tilted my head towards the stairs. She seemed to understand what I was getting at and made her excuses to the men who all groaned with disappointment. Wardes watched the exchange with some interest, though I wasn't sure what about it might concern him.

Together we made our way up stairs. "You're not drunk, are you?"

"I only had two, but alcohol makes me blush easily."

While she and I shared one room, the men were spread out across two. I wasn't privy to the exact bedding arrangements, but I imagine they drew straws for who got the beds and who used the floors.

I used the wash basin the inn provided and some charcoal to clean my teeth, before dressing down for bed. There was nowhere to bathe, so the best the two of us could do to clean ourselves of the day's travel and grim was wipe our bodies over with a wet cloth and dry by the fireplace. Just as she we were taking turns brushing each other's hair, there was a knock at our door.

After exchanging a look, Raphtalia called out, cautiously. "Who is it?"

"Only me." Warde replied.

My familiar scowled at that, and I understood why. After all, it was quite inappropriate for a man to approach a lady's chambers at this hour.

He continued, "When you're decent, come by my room to speak to me please. It's about our mission."

To a man's room? If it was about he mission, and Raphtalia would be there to chaperone me, then it might not be too inappropriate? "...We'll be there in a few minutes." I answered, and started to get dressed.

The distaste on Raphtalia's face was obvious, but she didn't complain and soon we were both standing in front of his door in our travel clothes. She knocked and entered the room first when the door swung open inwards. Wardes held the door open for us, his gaze lingering for a moment on Raphtalia's sword. Honestly, I'm not sure why she decided to bring it.

It seemed incredibly unlikely that he would attack us. I was his fiancé, after all, and daughter to his strongest political allies.

Though I was glad she was there.

"You don't intend to be seperated from Louise at all, do you?" Wardes asked with obvious amusement.

"Of course not." Raphtalia replied, curtly.

"I'm glad." He smiled at her. "Don't misunderstand me, I'm just glad you're there to keep my fiancé safe."

I coughed into my hand. "Was there something you needed to speak to us about?"

"Yes, just one thing." He turned to me with that same gentle smile. "I'm letting you know that I'll be leaving you here for a while as I go check in on our airship and its Captain. I didn't want you to wonder where I was if you came looking for me."

...He had us get dressed back up again just for that? Why couldn't he have explained that through the door? Whatever, I suppose. I understood why he would want us to know he was leaving at the very least.

We left the room with only a polite exchange of good nights and went to bed.

* * *

Again there was a knock at our door, this time quite late at night.

"Louise! You and your familiar need to get dressed! We have to leave right away!"

Bleary eyed, Raphtalia and I exchanged confused looks.

"Wardes? What's going on?" I called out.

"Our ship is leaving in ten minutes!" He shouted back. If we don't go we'll have to wait a week for the next one!"

Oh, oh no! Now in a hurry, we quickly pulled on our clothes and packed our bags before rushing out into the hall. Wardes was waiting for us at the entrance to the stables, with three horses ready to take us.

"Where are the other knights?" Raphtalia asked, glancing about nervously.

"Still sleeping off their drinking from last night." Wardes replied with a grimace. "If I had known the Captain would change their plans so suddenly, I would never have allowed them to be in such a state." He lowered his gaze ashamedly. "I'll try to rouse them again, but if I can't we'll just have to leave them behind."

**AN: **

**With thanks to Enid the bromunculus for editing. **

**Credit to Sony-Shock on Twitter for the new cover art. It's Raphtalia when she was first summoned at the start of the story.**


	52. 52 Empty Promises

The unfortunate truth is it's actually not usually very easy to spot lies. The amount of times Naofumi and I had fallen for tricks and deceptions wasn't as much as it could have been, but it certainly happened enough that we both learned to not trust people at first glance. Even Naofumi wasn't above scamming people for extra money when he saw the opportunity.

If it was so easy to spot when someone was trying to trap you, my life would have been a lot easier, that was for sure.

After all, there was an entire professional industry for people who developed deception as their primary skill, we called them actors. The simple fact was that some people were just too good at meeting people's gaze and spitting out hollow words for me to have any confidence in my ability to read people.

There was one trick I'd learned though: Pay attention to people's actions and not their words.

In Wardes case, his actions raised my hackles. Allowing his men to drink themselves to a stupor while on a mission, rousing us from our beds in a panic at midnight, and above all, moving us onto an airship that was leaving port at just after midnight?

If ships that sailed the skies were anything like the ones that sailed the seas, dockwork was potentially dangerous and navigation was not easy. What kind of crew insisted upon sneaking out at night rather than leaving during the day? The answer was one that was doing something suspicious, or was being paid a lot.

All these thoughts ran through my mind as I stared at our vessel, while in front of me Louise paced about. Not that Wardes was making her nervous, she seemed to trust him completely, she was afraid that we might fail the princess's mission.

A mission Louise still hadn't seen fit to explain to me.

"What could be taking him so long?" She asked aloud. "If he's not here we're going to have to leave without him."

That was the worst part of this. Louise trusted her fiancé completely. It didn't even occur to her that he might be trying to separate us from our guards, or that there was really no good reason for our airship to leave so late at night. Supposedly he was trying to rouse the rest of the knights, but somehow I doubted we were going to see them here anytime soon.

"Louise, I think we need to talk about Wardes."

She sighed with exasperation. "Is now really the time to talk about that?"

"I can't think of a more important time."

"Look." She began with a frustrated huff. "I appreciate how protective you are of me, but I've known Wardes for a very long time. He's even allowed me to attend the academy instead of insisting on our marriage even when there was every reason to believe me inexprime."

"None of that means that he isn't behaving suspiciously."

She breathed out through her nose. "We have a mission from Princess Henrietta, an important one, and I must see it through. Whatever your feelings on the man, I'm going to Albion with him and you can accompany me, or you can not."

I scowled at that and gave no answer, and awkward silence grew between us. I could tell there was no telling her otherwise, now. Naofumi was stubborn like this too, and couldn't be talked off a course he was set on. Even if it was awful or foolish.

Speak of the devil… The sound of footsteps reached us, and we both turned to see the man himself approaching us, a powerfully angry look on his face.

"They said they'll be along, but they're crawling at a snail's pace." He started up the gang ramp with a dissatisfied shake of his head. "I'll talk to the captain and see if I can't convince him to delay leaving."

No doubt his attempt would be unsuccessful.

"Well at least we're not going to be late." Louise muttered, starting up the ramp after him.

Assuming we were even heading to Albion at all...

* * *

Of course the other knights didn't make it in time. Being the only women aboard, Louise and I were given an officer's cabin to ourselves, which was at least some relief, though even if we barred the door it wouldn't offer us much in the way of safety.

It would take us a week to reach Albion, even if good weather prevailed, so that left plenty of time for Wardes to charm Louise and he wasted no time at all. The very next morning Wardes and her were standing almost shoulder to shoulder at the railing and looking over the side of the airship together while talking about the different things they had experienced in their time apart. Meanwhile I was being watched constantly by the crew, though from the looks on their faces I suspect it had more to do with my appearance than any particular instructions to keep an eye on me. A few of the men even tried to strike up a conversation with me, which I ignored until they gave up and went away. From what I overheard, which is usually a great deal more than I think most humans expect, my behaviour earned me a reputation for being a frigid and haughty beauty among the crew.

I could only roll my eyes at that.

More than anything else I just wanted to seperate Louise from Wardes, but with the small space aboard the ship there was almost nowhere else for them to be. As much as I wanted to insert myself between them I didn't want to risk upsetting Louise even more and in the process maybe drive her closer to him. Things had yet to return to normal between us since our fight on the docks.

After the sun set and we ate our rations, Louis and I returned to the cabin we shared and began to bed down for the night.

"I really can't see why you and Wardes shouldn't be able to get along." Louise began.

I could only grit my jaw and at last take off the hat I was forced to wear all day. To hide my nature as a Demihuman, Louise has packed a warm fur hat with thick pads at the sides to disguise my lack of human ears. The cold aboard the airship as we sailed so far above the ground was even the perfect excuse to wear it, the only problem was having my ears compressed all day was really uncomfortable.

"You two actually might have more in common than you think." Louise continued as I wiggled my ears with relief at the open air. She waited for my response, and when none came she continued. "I even got to talking to him about you and your situation."

Good feelings forgotten, I snapped my gaze towards Louise, and said with more sharpness than I may have intended. "What did you tell him?"

"Nothing personal." She reassured me. "Just that, well, you're not from this world and that, being my familiar, I wanted you to stay by my side even after I married him." There was a note of uncertainty in her voice, like she was saying something she was worried I might disagree with, and she looked up at me through my lashes as though afraid I might contradict her.

It was times like this I was reminded how vulnerable Louise was. She put on a brave face, but the years without good company and surrounded by hostility had left obvious scars that might never heal.

On the topic of how long Louise and I were to stay together, I wasn't sure, but at least for now I didn't want her to think I might leave anytime soon. Not that I really planned on leaving, either. "Oh, and what did he say to that?"

She smiled at me, before straightening her face out to avoid embarrassment. "He said you were welcome to live with us, and that if you liked we could even look at arranging a marriage for you."

"What?!" Good feelings gone, I turned towards her.

"Only if you want!" She hurriedly reassured. "And I certainly wouldn't demand it of you!"

I had no idea what to even say to her. The last person I wanted having anything like a say in my marriage was Wardes.

At the expression on my face Louise rushed to explain, "I just thought… with what you told me of your old flame that… maybe a more stable, considered relationship less influenced by whims might be good for y- Oh, where are you goin-?!"

The door slammed shut behind me so loudly my ears rang.

I strode up onto the deck, angrily looking about until I saw him.

My boots were so loud and quick across the deck that he put his hand on the hilt of his sword as he spun to face me. Before he could draw it I seized him by the wrist and held his arm in place with one hand, and grabbed him by the collar to pull his face closer mine.

"I can see through you, snake."

He didn't say anything at all for a few moments, just gazing back at me calmly. With his free hand he grabbed mine and pulled me away from his collar before standing up straight. He dusted off his collar, before saying, "And what, pray tell, do you intend to do about it?"

"I'll kill you." My sword rattled in it's sheath as I loosened it to be ready to draw.

He bent forward and whispered in my ear. "And what would Louise think if you did that?" With a sniff of satisfaction he leaned back and smirked at me. "Never make an idle threat, demihuman."

Wait, how did he even know that word? My kind didn't exist in this world. That had to be a coincidence.

"You should bundle up." He indicated the top of my head. "The crew says we're heading into a rather nasty storm."

AN: Thanks to Enid for editing and being a total brontosaurus.

I'm curious about my readers. How many of you have read both FoZ and RotSH? Of those of you that have read only one has it been a struggle to keep up?


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